The Wolf Girl
by Werewolf Yandere 97
Summary: There's a new girl on the team. Her name's Gahn Shakrin. She's a werewolf and proves to be a valuable asset. On a trip to Italy they see what they weren't expecting. Kid explored a temple, and uncovered carvings. Thing start to get complicated quickly. Bonds are broken and new ones are forged. In the midst of all this Gahn learns that even she doesn't know who she really is.
1. Chapter 1: The New Girl

Maka turned her head. Soul was slouched over and looked like he was going to fall asleep, while the other students seemed to have also gotten bored and were doing anything but listen to Dr. Stein. Who could blame them? Every single day the same thing happened. Dr. Stein would pull out an animal, usually it was something that was illegal to kill, and then would dissect it.

"YAHOOO!" She heard none other than Blackstar yell, getting up on the desk. "Hey everyone, why look at that small man when you can look at me?"

"MAKA-CHOP!"

He didn't get to finish his sentence.

Maka slumped back into her seat, still bored. It seemed as if the class was never going to end. She turned to look at Kid, wondering if he was actually paying attention. He turned and looked at her, their eyes locking. She immediately averted her gaze, only to slowly glance back at him. He was the only one other than her who was remotely listening. Liz noticed that Maka was staring and gave her a wink. Maka simply rolled her eyes, knowing how Liz thought. She was just about to fall asleep when Dr. Stein spoke.

"Maka, Soul, Kid, and the rest of your group, please go to the death room," he said, clearly forgetting everyone elses name.

"Man am I glad to be out of there," Liz said, stretching her arms as she went down the hallway.

Patty giggled and then said, "I wonder when we're going to dissect a giraffe?"

Everyone sweatdropped at Patty's comment, as they continued down the hallway. Liz quickly went up to Maka and whispered in her ear.

"I saw you staring at Kid," she whispered.

Maka rolled her eyes, and then quickened her pace to catch up to Kid.

"Hey Kid," she started. "Do you have any idea why we're being summoned."

"Sorry," he shook his head. "I'm just as clueless as you."

The group walked through the doors, and then down the path towards the centre, where Lord Death and Spirit stood.

"MAKA!" Spirit cried cheerfully.

"Go to hell," she growled, looking at the other figure standing in the death room. The stranger was wearing an emerald green cloak with the hood up, covering their face.

"What is it father," Kid began. "I assume you wanted to tell us something important."

"Ah yes," Lord Death clapped his large hands together. "I have some exciting news. You're going to have a new member on your team."

"And who would that be?"

"That would be me," the stranger spoke up, pulling down her hood.

The girl had emerald green eyes, ones that almost matched Maka's, and her hair was long and jet black. She wore a sweater vest under her cloak and her sleeves were rolled up to just above her elbow. She had a messenger bag strapped across her shoulder, and a weapon that looked like a maul.

"It is a pleasure to meet you," she said with a bow, "I am Gahn Shakrin."

Maka was the first to approach her. "Same here," she said, holding out her hand. "I'm Maka. That's Tsubaki, over there is Patty and Liz, that's my partner Soul, and over there is-"

"YAHOO!" Blackstar interrupted, pushing Maka aside. "I AM BLACKSTAR KNEEL BEFORE YOUR GOD!"

Before Maka could maka-chop him, Gahn covered Blackstar's mouth with her hand, squeezing so he couldn't talk. "Like that's going to happen," she rolled her eyes. "Now stop screaming. It's hurting my ears."

Gahn let go of him, pushing him back.

"Anyway," she heard someone say.

"I'm Death the Kid," he started. "You can just call me Kid."

"I'll take note of that."

"Hey, where's your partner?" Soul asked.

"I don't have one. I was initially here to do something for Lord Death and then he decided that I would be an asset to the academy."

"How dare she do that to her god," Blackstar growled, "I say we teach her a lesson."

"And how exactly do you plan on doing that?" Soul asked, not really caring.

"We challenge her."

"I don't know, you remember what happened with Kid."

"Yeah but this is different, she doesn't have a partner so she can't resonate with a soul."

* * *

Gahn ran up the steps to the DWMA. It was her first official day at the academy as a student and she didn't want to be late. When she got to the top of the steps she was greeted by Soul, lazily sitting.

"For the record," he said. "This wasn't my idea."

"What do you mean by that?"

Suddenly Blackstar dropped down from a spike on the school. "It's time to teach you a lesson!"

"I'd like to see you try," she scoffed, looking over to see the rest of the group run out with Dr. Stein.

Blackstar ran towards Gahn, and tried to punch her, but she swiftly dodged. Soul lunged for her, his arm turning into a blade. He slashed at her, but she grabbed him by his other arm and threw him into a wall.

Blackstar lunged at her again, throwing a storm of punches, each which she simply blocked. He threw a roundhouse kick at her, but she hopped out of the way and then swiftly kicked him, sending him right into soul, who was just getting up.

The other gawked at the two boys pathetic attempts. It was like watching someone trying to put out a fire by putting more wood on it.

"Man, and I thought that we gave them a good thrashing," Liz sighed.

"She doesn't seem to be giving them a break," Maka stated.

"No, you're wrong," Kid said. "Look closely. Her soul hasn't even expanded in the least. This is her version of playing"

As Soul made another attempt to get another hit, she grabbed him, and turned him into a scythe. Soul was incredibly confused and so was everyone else.

"How did she do that?" Maka exclaimed.

"Gahn specializes in the rare smithing magic. She can turn anything she wants into a weapon," Stein explained. "She's not having trouble like Blackstar did because her soul is compatible with almost anyone."

Gahn fended off Blackstar with Soul. She send a powerful kick to his stomach after she ducked, sending him flying up the air. She smirked, flashing her large canines, and jumped up after him. Soul struggled to get out of his weapon form. He couldn't understand why he wasn't able to. "TURN ME BACK!"

"Okay," Gahn said, throwing him towards Blackstar, making him turn into a weapon just before he hit blackstar, who was falling. The two boys plummeted down, making a massive crash as they collided with the ground.

Gahn landed on her feet. She stared at the two boys who were dazed on ground. "You were saying?"

"We're not going to give up just yet!" Blackstar exclaimed.

"We aren't?" Soul asked.

"Fine," Gahn sighed. "You asked for it.

The all eyes were on her as she hunched over and moved strangely, grunting a bit. She grew taller as her body changed, becoming fury, feet turning into paws.

"I don't like the looks of this," Soul said nervously.

She developed claws as sharp as knives, and a black tail. Her eyes stayed the same colour as her jaw and skull shifted, making her develop a snout and she developed sharp fangs, and massive ears.

Gahn gave a massive howl and snarled.

"So you're a werewolf?" Blackstar cackled. "Bring it on!"

With one swipe of a paw she knocked them both across the ground. Tsubaki and Maka sweatdropped as they watched their partners' countless useless attempts to attack. Before either of them could get to their target, Gahn had already moved and every time she had a chance she would strike.

"They're wasting their time," Kid said. "Neither of them have the skills to fight against someone like her, not with the way their fighting."

"I think this has gone on for long enough," Gahn sighed. She pulled out her warhammer, and when she lifted the weapon above her head it began to glow.

"What's happening?" Maka asked.

"You're seeing the power of smithing magic," Stein stated.

The hammerhead grew incredibly large, and when it stopped glowing, the head formed a snarling wolf head. As she lunged forward and sent the massive hammer upon the two guys, it made a huge explosion. When the dust cleared, there was a large crater, with Soul and Blackstar dazed in the middle.

"So much for teaching me a lesson."


	2. Chapter 2: Fun in Italy

**A/N: Sorry to disappoint you but because of the way I write, there will be hints of romance here and there and then eventually when the plot gets deeper their relationship will start to expand. It's just the way I write. This means in maybe two to four chapters later than this.**

* * *

"Don't you think you were a little harsh on the two?" Liz asked, as Gahn sat down.

"Nope," Gahn stated, staring at Stein. "If anything I went easy on them."

"I wouldn't worry about Soul anyway Liz," Maka said, turning a page in her book. "He's been through worse."

Dr. Stein rolled in on his chair, through the door only to have the wheel catch on a little ledge and then fall off it. The students sweatdropped as they watched him lay on the ground for a bit, then slowly tightening his screw. Finally, he got up, sat back on his chair, and then rolled to the desk. "Today we will be dissecting a Dodo," he said, earning a groan from the class.

"Isn't that extinct?"

"I have my sources."

Gahn rolled her eyes, and pulled out a book. She skimmed through the endless pages of stones, and pulled out a second one, containing weapon designs she had made. She flipped to the last design, a sword, and continued to draw. She made calculations every so often, and recorded measurements as she went along. Occasionally she would look up to listen to Dr. Stein, making sure that she didn't miss anything that was important, though it was rather useless considering he was just talking about the dissection of the supposedly extinct bird.

"That looks neat," Liz said, getting bored. "Why are you designing it."

"When I get bored, I often start to design weapons, most of which are magical. It's a good way for me to practice smithing believe it or not."

"So are these magical weapons?"

"Most of them are, but there are a few that aren't. Most of these weapons have been designed so I can create them in the midst of battle."

"Wait," Maka started, as she placed down her book. "So you're saying that anyone who knows smithing magic can make any weapon, anywhere at any time?"

"Yes, and No. If you do find someone who knows smithing magic then they probably only know a little. Usually, it's something along the lines of taking a sword and simply making it a spear. I don't want to brag when I say this, but you probably won't find someone as good as me."

Gahn picked up Maka's book and with a sudden glow, it turned into a small dagger. "I can turn anything into a weapon, and I can decide what it will look like, the materials it's made of and pretty much everything else."

"Incredible," Maka said in awe, watching the dagger turn back into a book as Gahn snapped her fingers. "I never knew that kind of magic existed."

"It's one of those forgotten arts really."

"Gahn," Dr. Stein called out, irritated that she wasn't paying attention. "If you don't want to pay attention in class then maybe I should chose you to be the next dissection."

"With all due respect professor, if you so such as lay a finger on me with the intent of dissection I will rip your arm off and beat you to death with it."

The entire class shivered at her response - with the exception of Death the kid - and stared at the aura of the girl. It was clear that Gahn was not joking. Dr. Stein however was unphased. He simply continued his lecture while dissecting the poor bird as if she hadn't said anything.

The rest of the day was pretty dull. With Blackstar and Soul recovering from Gahn's beating, nothing really happened. Gahn drew some more of her design before Patty asked her to draw a giraffe for her, Liz painted her fingernails, and Maka read her book. Some of the class was listening to music, while others were passing notes to each other. Dr. Stein had gotten some other poor animal to dissect and was completely unaware that the entire class wasn't paying any attention.

Curious, Maka looked over at Kid to see what he was doing. She liked Kid, he was the only one that didn't set her off all the time, and they were good friends. The idea of being in love with him had crossed her mind a few times before, but she wasn't totally certain of her feelings - at least, that's what she told herself - and didn't want to ruin their friendship anyway. When Kid saw him looking at her he gave her a friendly smile. Maka immediately, blushing a bit, looked away, only to look back. She tensed up a bit when she saw Liz whisper something in Gahn's ear.

"Regardless if that it's true, you shouldn't be going around telling people," Gahn stated flatly, making Maka relax. "You don't need to whisper in my ear either. Seriously, I have very good hearing."

When school was over Maka packed her bag and headed home. As she walked down the sidewalk she saw Gahn up ahead, walking alone.

"Whereabouts do you live?" Maka asked Gahn, as they turned the same corner. Maka smiled as she found out that they were living close to each other. Gahn's house ended up being only a few blocks away.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Gahn said as she continued on when they arrived at Maka's home.

* * *

"Remind me why we're here?" Soul asked.

"We were sent to Italy to hunt down a Kishin."

"Yeah, but why is she here with us?" Soul pointed at Gahn.

The meister and her weapon had been sent to Italy to take down the Kishin by the alias of The Blade. All that was known of him was that he had a consistency of mutilating his victims. Gahn was sent along incase something happened.

"Does it matter?" Gahn growled.

"Leave her alone Soul. I can't believe you're still hung up on what happened weeks ago."

Soul gave Gahn a glare, and then walked onwards down the street.

"Whatever," he mumbled.

"Sorry about Soul," Maka apologized. "I don't know why he's acting like this."

"It's fine."

They continued down the street, searching for any evidence, occasionally asking civilians. Eventually, a pattern emerged, and the killings seemed to be happening in a particular area of the city. Deciding that it was better to try and confront the kishin at night, they began to ask more civilians, particularly the ones that lived in the area.

Not looking where she was going, Maka accidently bumped into someone. The group of men turned around.

"Well, well well, what do we have here?" One of them said. "Two girls and a wimpy boy. Just our luck."

He grabbed Maka's arms as she struggled to get free and then gave a twisted smile. "No need to struggle princess. We're just going to have a little fun with you."

Soul launched himself at the guy, but two others threw him right back.

"Soul!" Maka cried, as she struggled to get free, watching him slump to the ground.

Suddenly the man felt someone pull on his shoulder. When he looked over he saw Gahn with her hand on his shoulder, gripping tightly.

"Feisty one aren't you?" He said, chuckling.

"If you do anything to her I will rip your arm off your body and then beat you with it until you are dead."

"Oh yeah? What are you going to do about it? I'm not afraid of you."

"You should be," Gahn snarled, pulling him towards her. She quickly punched him in the face and then kneeled him in the groin. Then when he staggered she threw him over her shoulder at his friends. He hit the ground with a thud, and it sounded like his back cracked. Gahn caught a glimpse of Soul getting up and then glared at the remaining men.

"Unless you want to be in his condition I suggest you scatter."

"Not only will you be dealing with me, you will also be dealing with him, and her," She said making a gesture towards Soul and Maka who were beyond pissed off.

The guys got the message, and immediately ran off, leaving their friend behind, unconscious with a possibly broken back.

"Let's get going," Gahn said unphased. "It's almost dark."

Maka immediately started to use her soul perception, and lead them down dark alleyways and streets. Nobody was on the streets, they were completely empty with the exception of the stray cats, which there were a lot of. Eventually they were lead to a large open road that led to a motioned for them to halt, and hide behind some pillars that they were near.

On the road was the kishin. The hideous creature had large blades sticking out from it's hands and arms. It had large fangs and it's body made it slouch over as it traveled down the road, searching for its next victim. It made a groaning noise as it moved, turning its head this way and that.

"I'll get his attention," Gahn whispered. "Be ready to battle once he notices I'm here. After that, I'll try not to get in your way."

Gahn's maul glowed as it turned into a crossbow. Holding it up, she pulled out a bolt and put it in by pulling the lever. Then she aimed at the kishin through a scope. She lined up the kishin and after moments, she let go of the trigger.

The kishin turned around after it was hit with the bolt, howling in pain. Then, it charged for where the bolt had come from, it's blades ready. Maka jumped out at the kishin, Soul ready and slashed at it. The kishin blocked her attack and then swiped at her but she jumped out of the way, and then lunged for another attack. It dodged her attack, and then swiped at her.

Before it could actually strike her, Gahn blocked it. Her maul quickly turned into a sword as she slashed at the kishin. It tried to block her, but as soon as the kishin did she quickly slashed again where it was open. The kishin staggered back, and Maka slashed at it too.

"I don't understand," Soul said. "She was able to defeat Blackstar and me quickly?"

Maka couldn't understand it either. There was no doubt in her mind that Gahn could kill that kishin without breaking a sweat, but she wasn't. It was more like Gahn wasn't really trying hard to kill it. It was as if she wanted to harm it, but not to kill it. All of a sudden Gahn's sword turned back into a maul as she started to pulverize the kishin with strong swift blows everywhere, completely contradicting Maka's observations.

"Now!" Gahn shouted, giving a massive blow to the kishin, making it dazed.

Maka nodded and dashed towards the kishin. Swing soul down, she delivered the final blow to it. When the deed was done Soul switched out of his weapon form and ate the soul.

Gahn sighed, and brushed off her skirt.

"We should probably get going back to the hotel. It's getting late," she said, walking on.

* * *

Gahn stared at the moon and gave a sigh. Even though it's smile was rather maniacal, Gahn actually enjoyed staring at it. Hearing someone approach, she turned around. Maka sat beside her.

"Is something bothering you?" Maka asked.

Gahn remained silent for a moment before answering. "I saw something."

"And it was?"

"The blood, and it was black."

* * *

**So write a review or whatever if you want to. I couldn't give a damn.**


	3. Chapter 3: The Temple

**A/N: Thank you so much for the review. Please note that even though this will be a relatively long story (when I say that I mean probably ten chapters or so - I don't really know - ) It may seem a little rushed here and there because this is actually kind of a side-project for me because I'm having a block with one of my other stories. **

**Please also excuse any spelling mistakes, unless they're really bad ones. **

* * *

Gahn was right.

Maka insisted that they go back to the cathedral because she didn't believe Gahn. When they got there Gahn lead them to a spot near where the kishin was slain. On white stones there were blood stains scattered around. They were dark, which was expected, but instead of being a dark red like dry blood it was black. It was obvious that the black stains were blood because there were flakes of black blood in spots where the liquid had gathered together and dried.

Not matter what the case, if the black blood was involved then it always meant trouble. The black blood was a serious matter that couldn't be ignored as it drove its victims into complete madness and sometimes sporadically.

"Are you really sure that this is actually black blood?" Soul asked, not completely convinced.

"There's no doubt in my mind," Gahn stated. "Black blood even smells different from regular blood."

Soul and Maka were a little creeped out by the fact that Gahn actually knew what it smelled like. Getting over Gahn's strange comment, Maka gave one final look at the blood.

"We have to tell Lord Death."

* * *

"Out of all the places we had to be, why did it have to be this place?" Liz complained as they walked down the dirty hallway.

"Because father wanted us to investigate." Kid replied. "He believes it might be linked to some disturbance."

Kid and his partners had been sent to old ruins because apparently strange activity had been reported in the area. All evidence suggested that the source for the activity was coming from the ruins even though no one had set foot in them for over a hundred years. The fact that no one ever visited and the strange activity reported made the Lord of Death worried, thinking that it had something to do with a kishin.

The walls of the temple were covered in cobwebs and dust, and an occasional squeak of a mouse was heard as it scurried along the floor. The atmosphere of the temple sent chills down Liz's spine as she thought of all the possible monsters that could be lurking around. Patty, however, was unphased and continued to pretend that she was an airplane, her arms stretched out as she ran behind Kid, making zooming noises.

"I don't like this place," Liz shivered. "Just think of all the creatures in here."

"They'd probably be able to eat you whole sis!" Patty exclaimed, with a grin.

"Not helping!"

"Oh relax," Kid said. "I highly doubt we'll run into any trouble. I mean just look! How could something evil possibly exist in something so symmetrical?"

Liz rolled her eyes at Kid gawking at the perfect symmetry of the temple. Once he got started it was hard to make him stop. She sighed as she saw Kid freak out about how one of the statues of a wolf wasn't placed symmetrically. He began to fix every statue that went by, and eventually Liz got so fed up she grabbed him by his collar and dragged him through the temple.

"You crossed the line," Liz muttered as she dragged him along. "The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can get out of here."

Patty merely giggled as Liz was fuming.

"What was that?" Liz inquired, stopping.

She looked down the hallway, but she saw nothing. She was going to continue walking when she heard a groaning noise. Liz began to get more nervous as she heard it come closer.

_Thump._

_Thump._

_Thump._

Liz practically jumped as she saw a strange - or ugly - army of creatures come down it. In reality it was only four or five. They were obviously not friendly and it was clear that their intentions didn't involve the intruders alive when they were done.

"Patty!" Liz called out. Patty immediately turned into a gun and landed in her hand. Liz shot the first and then ducked as the second one lashed out at her. It would've successfully hit her, but because she jumped and turned into a gun she got smaller. As Liz fell towards the ground Patty caught her and with two shots to the head the second one was dead.

As the thompson sisters fought the remaining creatures Kid simply pounding the floor with his fist mumbling about how he was "asymmetrical garbage, a pig, and a useless cow."

"You're still acting like this?" Liz exclaimed, very ticked off. "Did you not see what just happened?"

"I'm horrible, a disgrace."

"If only Gahn were here to beat some sense into you" Liz groaned. "That's it! Patty, do the face."

"Okay!" Patty giggled. She walked over to Kid and kneeled beside him. "Get your damn ass off the ground."

Liz sighed at the sight of Patty laughing her ass of as Kid freaked out over her creepy face. Grabbing Kid and Patty she walked down the hallway.

"Come on," she said "We're almost there. You really are a handful, you know that?"

The hallway lead to a gigantic room. It was adorned with torches on the walls for a light source, and statues of wolves on either side of it. There was rubble from the walls due to age but other than that it was in pretty good condition.

On one wall - the one opposite from the entrance - had strange carvings on it. When they got closer they realized that the carvings had an intense amount of detail in it. Kid gasped at the sight because it was symmetrical, and just stared at it.

"Look at this Liz," he said. "A true piece of art. It's perfectly symmetrical."

"You can gawk at it all you want later," Liz rolled her eyes and shook Kid to get him out of his trance. "Right now we have to figure out what this has to do with the disturbances."

Kid pouted a bit and then looked back at the carving. The symbol for kishin was on the carving, and there appeared to be what looked like werewolves dancing around it. Then as he turned his head to the left it appeared to be a crown, and then the there the symbol for kishin again, but it was tattered and torn.

"Look over here!" Liz called pointing at another wall. It depicted a kishin and a werewolf, many dead bodies were around them. On the wall across from it was another carving. It showed a crown surrounded by blood and what looked like dead werewolves. Beside it was something inscribed but it was in a strange language that was unidentifiable.

"This is just getting creepy. Let's get out of here. The sooner the better," Liz said.

"I agree," Kid said, surprising Liz. "This is something that we must tell father. Besides, it looks like we haven't been the only ones who have been in here recently."

* * *

"REAPER-CHOP!" Lord Death exclaimed as he hit the deathscythe disturbed by his antics.

"Why hello Maka! Soul!" He said cheerfully as he saw them come into the death room. "Back from your assignment are you? How did it go."

"It went fine Lord Death sir," Maka said, soul nudged her to continue. "But we had an encounter with what we believe was black blood."

There was large pause, as the reaper stood silently. Maka couldn't tell if he was staring at her, or deep in thought.

"I see," he said, startling almost everyone in the room, Gahn being the exception. "Thank you for the report. You may attend to your classes now."

The students headed towards the exist, about to go to class when Lord Death spoke up again. "Gahn, could I see you for a moment. _Privately_."

Gahn turned around and came back to Lord Death. "Is something the matter Lord Death?"

"Are you sure it was black blood?"

"I am positive. And another thing worries me. It didn't have the same tinge that blackblood usually has in its smell."

"So then my theory?"

"I believe your theory is correct.

* * *

Maka gave out a long sigh as she stared out at the scene in front of her. She was worried about the black blood that they had found, and the way that Lord Death reacted to the news just made it worse. Desperate to make herself not worry too much about the situation she began to try and think about something else. The more she tried not to think about it, the more she found that she did.

"You seem deep in thought," she heard kid say as he sat beside her.

There was no denying that Kid liked Maka, Liz and Patty were always teasing him about how he did because of how he was always complimenting on how symmetrical she was. Though he liked her because of her symmetry, it wasn't the main reason he could liked her in that way. He couldn't exactly describe how he felt but he knew that he had feelings for her.

As much as he wanted to tell her that he liked her, he was worried about what could happen. He knew that if she didn't feel the same way about him then their relationship would never be the same, and if she did return his feelings he was afraid about how the others would react, particularly Soul. He was afraid that he might then ruin their relationship.

The two meisters sat in silence for a bit, neither one of them knew what they should say next. After what seemed like ages Kid finally spoke up.

"Is something troubling you?"

"I've been thinking of what happened in Italy," she confessed. "The sight of the black blood has been worrying me."

"You saw black blood?" Kid was astonished. "What did father have to say about it?"

"He didn't' tell us anything," she replied. "He simply told us to leave and then wanted to speak to Gahn."

"Do you think it's possible that the black blood is linked to the disturbances and the temple I explored earlier today?"

"I don't know. I didn't go with you to the temple so I don't actually know what it looks like. What makes you think that?"

Kid explained to Maka every detail about the carvings that were inside the temple. He also mentioned that there was evidence that someone else had been in it before them and that his father's reaction to the report was the same as the reaction Maka described. He theorised that they were somehow connected because of Lord Death's reaction.

"We can go ask father right now if you wish," Kid suggested.

* * *

"Father," Kid started as he walked towards Lord Death in the death room. "Why exactly did you send me to that temple?"

"I sent you because I sensed a high volume of magic coming from it, that's all."

Kid eyed his father suspiciously. When his father said "that's all" he was usually hiding something. Knowing that he wasn't going to get the answer he wanted, Kid decided to ask him another question.

"Do you think that the carvings I found and black blood are connected?" He asked simply looking for a "yes, no", or even a "possibly" as an answer.

"Would you like a cup of tea?" Lord Death said, not even answering his question.

"Don't change the subject! Please just answer the question."

"Question?"

"Yes... the one about the temple and the black blood."

"Temple?" Lord Death feigned innocence.

Kid groaned, realizing he wasn't going to get any answers from his father and decided to take his leave.

"How did it go?" Maka asked, she was waiting for him outside the death room. "Judging by the way you look, not too well?"

"He's definitely hiding something."

"Do you want me to help out?"


	4. Chapter 4: Book Fun

**A/N: Hello world. Sorry I haven't updated this. I have summer school so I'm a bit busy. T.T I thought I could use the summer to write but noooo, I have school. Anyway, you guys are in for a treat. I know I said that this wasn't going to be too in depth but I kind of got carried away with the plot so it is. *Insert "Horray" here***

* * *

"Look at this," Maka said, putting down a book and pointing to an image. "It says here that the area around the temple you explored was inhabited by werewolves whose culture was very magic based. The temple had been there for many years before they arrived, and the only one who ever used it was one person."

"What was the name of their culture?" Kid asked. He was quite pleased with Maka's findings even if it was very small. They had been searching the library for hours and it seemed as if they were getting nowhere.

"The Arflern."

Kid quickly moved the ladder that rolled on wheels across the large book shelves. Getting up on the ladder he looked at the section on history. He only found one book on the Arflern.

It was vague, and most of the information wasn't what he needed. He did manage to get one name out of the old dusty book though. It was the name of the only person who used the temple, a famous prophet.

"See if you can find anything on Jaspik Liom," he stated, calling over to Maka who was over by the section on people."

He sighed when she said there was nothing. Getting off the ladder he walked up to her. "Are you sure?"

"I don't know, there might be a book over here but I don't know if I can reach it," she said, getting on her toes and struggling to put a book back in place. She jumped when she felt Kid's breathe on her.

"That looks heavy," he said, taking the book. He put it back on the shelf, getting closer to Maka in the process, making her blush. When all the books were placed back on the shelf Kid stepped back.

"Are you okay? You look kind of red," he said, looking at her face.

"Oh yeah!" She said quickly. "I'm fine."

"We should probably go ask the librarian for access to the other part of the library. If there's nothing here about him there's no doubt in my mind."

Maka gave a little nod and then followed him to the librarian. Kid approached the man behind the desk and then flashed him a card. Then Kid walked in the direction that the man pointed to, giving Maka a gesture.

When they got to the new room Kid slid one of the ladders over to a certain section and then climbed up. Maka simply stood at the bottom, watching him.

"Here we go," He said, opening the newly found book. "I knew it would be in here."

He tossed it down to Maka. "Read the beginning pages."

"Jaspik Liom, an alflern philosopher and prophet," She started reading out loud. "Famous for his theories on madness, and what are now known as keishins, he was funded by the royal family and worked all over the world. Many people thought he was crazy and insane, while the royal family still gave him the funds he needed to continue his research believing that he wasn't. "

"Does it say anything about the temple?" Kid asked, stepping down from the ladder.

"I think so," Maka skimmed the through the pages. "It says here that one day during his prophet practices he received a vision that made him feel uneasy. As he continued his research he became more worried about what he had seen. During one of his last visits to where he was raised, he explored the temple for days at a time. One day he was very ill but traveled to the temple anyway despite the warnings. Worried that he was not going to make it out of the temple, he wrote is prediction on one of the walls. The next day people found him in temple fainted almost dead.

When he finally woke, Jaspik kept saying there was something important he needed to write but they wouldn't let him because he was weak. Finally, he wrote a letter to his wife with his prediction in it, but it never reached the royals because the letter was burned in a fire. By the time he was able to return back to his study he had forgotten what he had predicted. The original message was written in Erlin, and no one has ever found it."

"Alright then," Kid said, going over the bookshelves, pulling off a book. "This book gives a list of dead languages and little blurbs about them."

He looked up Erlin and then flipped through some pages. "Erlin was a language that only werewolves used. Eventually, nobody used it and the only people who learned it were those of the Royal Family due to traditions, and some servants. It isn't technically a dead language but it is considered one."

"So in order to read it we need to find someone who knows the language," Maka said.

"Exactly," Kid said, noticing Maka yawn. "It's getting late, we should probably head home."

She gave a nod and yawned again. They made sure that everything was neat and then turned off the lights in the room before exiting together. They walked through the school in silence, each not knowing what to say to each other. As they got to the bottom of the steps they said their goodbyes and parted ways.

Maka ran back to her home as fast as she could. When she got to the door she pulled out her key. When she didn't hear a click she realised that the door was unlocked. She assumed that Soul must have forgotten so she simply opened the door and turned on the lights. The sight of Soul standing with his arms crossed startled her.

"Where were you?" He demanded. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"I am well aware what time it is," Maka shot back. "I was with Kid at the school library."

"I don't like you spending time with him," he growled, slightly muttering.

"Well too bad!" She retorted. "I'm going back to the library with him tomorrow."

* * *

Blackstar was about to jump down from the ledge he was on to beat up all the guards at once to prove how godly he was, completely ignoring Tsubaki's protests when he felt Gahn grab his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" He asked harshly. "I'm about to go and beat these guys up so my target will fear me!"

"That's the dumbest idea I've ever heard. We're supposed to kill the target discretely otherwise he'll flee. Beating them up won't help at all."

"Yeah but he won't fear me!"

"That doesn't matter! You can prove how much of a god you . are to everyone else after we kill him."

"I'm a god! I don't have to listen to you!" Blackstar protested, turning around again to jump.

Before he could Gahn knocked him out. She picked up the unconscious boy and his weapon and then continued crawling through the vents. Finally they got to their destination, avoiding all the guards. She carefully got rid of the grid covering it and then stared at the target below.

Carefully, she took out her weapon and turned it into a crossbow. Setting it up in front of her, she pulled out a bolt and put it in the crossbow. She aimed at the target and then shot it. The man went down with a thump, and the other two in the room rushed over to take a look at him. Reloading the crossbow, she hit another. Knowing she didn't have time to reload before he alerted anyone else she took Tsubaki – who was in sword mode – and chucked her, hitting him in the head.

Jumping down with Blackstar over her shoulder, she went over to the dead body and pulled out Tsubaki. She waited for her to turn back to normal and then went over to the new keishin souls that were floating.

"How many souls do you have so far?" Gahn asked as she brought the other two over to Tsubaki.

"Not to many," Tsubaki muttered, looking embarrassed.

"He has got to be the worst excuse for an assassin I have ever seen,"

* * *

"How was your date?" Liz asked as Kid was adjusting the skull that he used as a replacement for a tie.

"It wasn't a date," he said a bit annoyed. "We were just doing some research"

"Being alone with your crush in a library at night totally is practically the same thing," Liz rolled her eyes as she was doing her nails.

"No it isn't."

"Oh so you admit that you like her?"

Kid got all flustered and red. "I never said that!"

"Whatever. It doesn't take a genius to see that you like her."

"I do not like her!"

"KID AND MAKA SITTING IN A TREEE! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Patty giggled hysterically.

"See? Even Patty noticed."

"I'm going to leave now," Kid sighed in defeat, knowing that no matter what he said, Liz wouldn't change her mind. He could hear Patty's maniacal laughing from across practically the end of the block.

When he got to the school Maka was nowhere to be found. Assuming that she was in the library already, he opened the doors. He passed through the large corridors, listening to the sound of his steps. Finally he got to the library and he opened the doors.

Sure enough Maka was there. He simply stared at her as she turned her head, the light from the windows shone on her, making her sandy blond hair shine like gold. Her green eyes shimmered as she realized who it was. Kid thought she looked like an angel. Her smile, her symmetrical hair, her eyes, everything, was perfect.

"Hey," she said sweetly, breaking her gaze. "How are you?"

"Good," he replied with a smile. "Have you been here for long?"

"No," she replied. "I just got here."

The two teens stood there in silence for a moment. Unsure how to proceed.

"Do you have any pictures of the carving and the text?" Maka said finally. "I found a lot of pictures of the Erlin language with captions on it. Maybe we could do some cross referencing."

"Yeah," he said. "I've got them right here."

He pulled out the pictures he had in his pocket and put them on the table. She took out the first picture that she had found and looked at it. Sitting beside her, Kid took another picture. Unfortunately, though it sounded like a good idea, they found nothing except for the word _"it"_.

"I don't think we're going to solve this anytime soon," Maka gave frustrating groan, knowing that they weren't getting anywhere. Suddenly, the sound of the doors opening caught their turned their heads to see Gahn, surprised that she had come to the library.

"How was your mission?" Maka inquired.

"Fine," Gahn said as she put a book away. "It was quick and easy. Though, Blackstar is the worst assassin I've ever seen."

"I heard he took quite a beating. The keishin must have been powerful," Kid said.

"No, not really. Blackstar's 'beating' was actually from me. I had to knock him out," Gahn replied, walking over to them. "What are you guys doing?"

"We're trying decipher what this says," Kid explained, showing her the pictures.

"Oh this is Erlin," Gahn casually stated pulling out a pen. On a spare piece of paper she wrote what it meant. "It means: _Royalty will be the beginning, royalty will be the end._"

"You can read Erlin?" Maka gasped.

"Yeah," Gahn replied. "I learned it when I was little."

"Why would you learn a dead language?"

"Don't know," Gahn sighed walking towards the door. "I was never told why. If you need any help just ask."

Kid and Maka watched as the doors closed.

"I wonder what that means," Kid stated, looking at what Gahn had wrote.

"I'm more curious about why Gahn knows the language."

"Maybe she's hiding something. But what?"


	5. Chapter 5: Good News, I Have Bad News

**A/N: Sorry for the quickness of this chapter. There really wasn't much I could do with this. *sighs* Oh well, there's one in every story I suppose. I would also like to apologize in advance for some mistakes that you might find here and there.**

* * *

"I want to go to the temple."

"I'm sorry, could you say that again?" Kid asked, a bit surprised by what Maka had asked.

"I'd like to go to the temple," Maka repeated. "I'm curious to see the actual carving."

* * *

"Lord Death," Sid said. "I have a report."

Lord Death turned around and looked at Sid. "Oh Goody."

Sid sweat dropped at the Death God's bouncy attitude as he pulled out the report. Lord Death plucked up the sheets and shifted through them, his giant hands making his movements a bit slow.

"Good, good,' Lord Death said while reading the pages.

"Read the ending pages."

Lord Death shifted to the end of the papers. His cheerful vibe started to leave as he read further. He paused for a second, which worried the zombie.

"I wasn't sure how to react either," he said.

"Oh dear," Lord Death said. "Oh dear, this is very bad news, very bad news indeed."

* * *

"Wow this place is a lot bigger than I expected," Maka said, walking beside Kid with the pictures in her hand.

Kid and Maka had left out for the temple pretty soon after Maka had suggested going. Liz and Patty had tagged along too, in case anything happened so that they would be able to defend themselves if any trouble came up. Maka decided not to take Soul, knowing his strange new attitude towards Kid would not be helpful.

"How long are we going to be here?" Liz whined, finding the place creepy. "I don't want to end up in any more trouble like last time."

"It'll only be for a little bit," Maka replied as they turned down one of the corridors and then around another turn. "I just want to see the actual carving."

"Do you think we'll find a giraffe statue?" Patty giggled.

"There weren't any last time, what makes you think that would change?"

"The Alfern were werewolves. I highly doubt they would have any interest in giraffes."

"Aw," Patty said in disappointment.

"We're here," Kid said, stopping at the entrance.

Maka walked past him and up to the carving. She caressed the carvings, inspecting every single indent. She stopped as she got to the symbol for Kishin.

"I wonder if this prophecy has anything to do with this carving," Maka said out loud, looking at another part of the wall.

"Maybe," Kid replied. "It would explain a lot. Jaspik was apparently one of those people who also drew the prophecy they wrote."

"Alright are you guys done?" Liz interrupted. "I'm starting to get a really bad vibe from this place."

"Yeah I'm done," Maka stated, turning around and walking towards them. "Let's go."

They walked back through the temple, Liz complaining about the vibe she was getting. The group was too busy talking to notice they had taken a wrong turn by accident until it was too late.  
"Uh, are you sure we've gone the right way?" Liz asked. "I'm pretty sure I haven't seen this before."

"Now that you mention it," Maka stated. "I don't think we are."

"You mean we're lost in a temple that could be full of ghosts?" Liz began to freak out. "How could this get any worse?"

Kid hushed her and peered around one of the corners, then he beckoned for Maka to come over and take a look. In the room around the corner there was a little fire with tents around it. A few people were close to the tents, looking very suspicious.

"What are they doing here?" Maka whispered.

"I don't know, but whatever their purpose is, they can't be up to good," Kid watched as they performed what looked to be black magic.

"Just great now we'vegot witches!" Liz exclaimed only to be hushed by the meisters who didn't want to be heard. It was too late though.

A man heard her voice and decided to check if anyone was there. He approached the hallway and stopped, not seeing anything there. Unconvinced, he stepped down the hall, approaching the corner. Suddenly he was pulled by his shirt and then there was a large bang. His lifeless body fell to the ground, before revealing his soul, which was actually a kishin soul.

The others heard the bang and knew something was wrong. Quickly, Kid emerged and ran towards them, shooting Liz and Patty. He managed to hit one but the others dodged the bullets before he could hit them. He threw Patty to Maka knowing that her soul would be compatible just as another sneaked behind Maka and was going to strike her. She shot him quickly.

Countless sounds of gun shots could be heard as the battle raged. There were only about fifteen of them, which was usually nothing for the group but the fireball, and ice bolts being thrown at them made it much more difficult.

Finally the battle finished. Maka panted, not used to dodging and rolling so much as well as aiming a gun during the maneuvers. She looked towards Kid as he walked up to a man who was still alive.

"Why are you here?" Kid asked, Liz still in his hand.

The man laughed a bit. "Like I would tell you. It doesn't matter. It won't be any use to you boy. He's already back."

"Who?"

"Secrets are best when they are kept," the man said, before his eyes closed and died.

"Damn it!" Kid said aloud, "We aren't getting anywhere!"

"Wait a minute Kid," Maka said, placing her hand on his shoulder to calm him down. "These people all had black blood."

Kid looked at the floor, noticing what Maka had pointed out. The blood spattered on the floor was black, not crimson red. The thickness of the black blood meant that the people had been affected by the madness, and with what had been said to him still lingering in his mind, Kid knew something very bad was going to happen.

Regardless of what the source of where the black blood was coming from was, it couldn't be ignored. It needed to be stopped as soon as possible.

* * *

"Father!" Kid said, rushing into the death room with Liz, Patty, and Maka behind her. Gahn was already in the room, having a conversation with the death god. "I have grave news."

"What is it?" Lord Death asked.

"We went to the temple again, and I believe that the amount of people who have recorded to have black blood after the defeat of Asura has increased! I thin - "

"The kishin is back," Gahn bluntly stated.

"What?" Kid gasped, completely startled by what Gahn had said.

He knew that the return of the black blood was serious, but he never would have imagined that it was because Asura was back. He thought it was going to be a witch who was trying to use black blood for evil deeds and seeing people simply suffer.

"It is true Kiddo," Lord Death said. "He is back."

"And you didn't tell me?"  
"I had a theory that he was going to, but I never told you because I wasn't sure if it was really going to happen."

"How come Gahn was told this and not me?" Kid asked, irritated.

"I knew you would react like this," Lord Death gave a disappointed sweat drop. "The entire reason Gahn is here at the academy is because I knew that she would be the best for the job. Until my suspicions were confirmed by her and Sid I couldn't tell anyone. "

Kid sighed, he was still frustrated that his father didn't tell him something so important, but he was happy that his father actually had a decent reason.

"Alright then," he started. "How is he still alive? I thought we were done with him.

"That, I do not know. It's possible that when Maka defeated him she didn't actually destroy him entirely.

"So then where is he now?" Maka asked

"We don't know that either. His soul is too weak at the moment to be picked up by soul perception."

"Alright then," Kid stated. "Once we find him how are we supposed to defeat him?"

"Since Maka wasn't able to defeat him and neither was I or you, by the time we actually find him he will be almost back to his regular strength so trying to beat him until he dies is quite pointless."

"So then what do you suggest?"

"Stark Frawning," Gahn interrupted. "Made what is considered one of the deadly weapons ever made. He hid the weapon though; afraid of what would be done with it after he died."

"So until we are able to find the weapon, all we can do is prepare."


	6. Chapter 6: The First Key

**A/N: I just have nothing to say. Sorry. **

* * *

Kid and Maka went back to the library to see if they could get any information on him that would suggest where he might have hid the weapon but they found nothing. Figuring that the man they were looking for wasn't in the library even though he created what was considered one of the most powerful weapons of all time was because most of his creations were for the DWMA and no one else, Kid suggested looking for his profile, assuming that he had one. Maka wasn't allowed to come with him to the room where all the profiles on everyone because all students were not allowed in the room.

Finding Stark's profile, he pulled it out of the shelf and then left the room. He put it on a table in the library and opened it to see the contents inside.

_Name: Stark._

_Profession: Weaponsmith_

_Affiliations: DWMA_

_Rank: N/A _

_Birth: 1947_

_Death: N/A_

There was no other information on him, nor was there a picture. Sighing, Kid closed the profile.

"Maybe we should ask Gahn," Maka suggested. "Maybe she knows."

"Good idea. Do you know where she is?"

* * *

"He was the weaponsmith for the DWMA. He also was very good at fighting so he always was on the front lines. He loved puzzles and riddles, and could often be found reading. He was close to Lord Death, and was planning on staying with the DWMA but then he received an injury that made him unable to fight so he retired. Nobody knows how he died."

"How do you know all of this?" Maka asked, impressed by her knowledge.

Gahn avoided her question and simply said something else. "He had a home here in the city if I'm not mistaken."

"Do you know where it is?" Kid asked.

"No. Ask your father. He'll know"

* * *

Kid's father directed them to a "small" house located east of the academy. Small was an understatement. It was at least two stories high. It was clear that nobody had set foot in the house for a very long time.

The door creaked as the two miesters entered the building. There was a sort of musty smell, and everything was either covered in cobwebs or dust. It was surprising to find the lights still working. As they walked up the stairs to the second floor the stairs made a creaking noise, making Maka a bit uneasy.

Once they were at the top they stumbled upon what looked like a study. They were hoping to find a journal of some sort but found nothing. All the books in the house seemed to be history books or manuals. The drawers on the desk contained nothing but pens and papers that were of no use what so ever and cupboards were completely empty.

The bedroom was practically empty with the exception of a few things - not that they were of any use though – so they didn't bother going in to it. The next room was a completely empty room. No carpet, no drawers, nothing.

Finally they went down to the basement. It was clearly where he worked, as there were tongs, hammers, a forge, and an anvil randomly in the room. Kid was going to have a breakdown because of how asymmetrical it was, but Maka quickly calmed him down before he was about to curl up into a ball and cry.

Noticing something strange about one of the walls, she walked up to it. One of the bricks was loose in the wall, and she pulled it out. It was much lighter than a brick should have been and when she turned it over, she realized it wasn't even a brick at all. It was a box. Opening it, she came across an old note.

_Death,_

_As you know the weapon I created that proved to be quite effective during the raging battle and hunts for kishins has been locked away in a place that I pray no one who with the wrong intent will find. _

_I regret hiding it so well all those years ago from anyone as I know now after man years that you would keep it safe, but it would be too much trouble to bring it out again to give it to you. Besides, perhaps it is better this way. I have a grave feeling that this will be needed in the future and because of this, I am writing to you to so that you will be able to find it. _

_I cannot tell you out right lest our enemies find this letter first but if you read my letters carefully, you will find it. _

_You must first find the keys that I have hidden to open the door. Once you do that, you will have to find where they belong. In case this letter falls into the wrong hands I will not be giving you the clue to find the first key directly in this letter either. _

_I have no idea if you will ever receive this letter, but if you are reading this, know that I will not be returning to your academy, nor will you ever hear or see of me again. _

_As my final parting, I tell you these words:_

_Where the weapons become strong. _

_Sincerely yours,_

_Stark._

"Where the weapons become strong…" Maka said out loud. "Is he talking about the Academy?"

"Possibly," Kid replied. "But you have to remember, according to Gahn, he loved riddles, and because he was so worried about the weapon, I doubt he would make solving it so easy."

"You're right," Maka sighed. "This is so frustrating!"

"Maybe we could ask one of the teachers or deathscythes." Kid suggested. "If he worked at the academy then they must know something about him that might help us. Why don't we ask your father?"

"No, no, no, no, no," Maka protested. "Anyone but him."

"Alright then, how about Sid?"

"Sure, just as long as we stay _away _from papa."

* * *

Sid gave them as much information as he could, but he proved to be only a slight help. He told them that almost all Stark's riddles were irritating because how hard they were. The riddle probably required knowledge of other skills or history in order to solve them, or the way it was written had something to do with it.

Maka gave out a groan as she stared at the letter, completely stuck in a rut. No one they talked to was able to help them solve it, they all just said how ridiculous the riddles were to solve.

"What the hell is the answer to this?" Maka cried, completely oblivious to her teacher coming rolling into the room on his chair.

"What are you to doing?" Stein asked, rolling over to them. "I thought you guys would've gone home by now."

"We're trying to solve a riddle," Kid said. "One by a former teacher."

"Oh," Stein said, realising who they were talking about. "Him. He had a habit of making riddles seem so hard, causing you to over think them. Considering that this is only one sentence, I can guarantee you that answer is probably a lot simpler then you think it is."

The meisters watched as Stein rolled out of the library on his char again.

"So then if what he said is true, then the answer literally has to do with weapons.

* * *

"So then what brings me here?" Gahn asked, walking with them to old house they had visited before. When Gahn grasped the door handle, the door almost came of its hinges. Maka and Kid showed her down to the basement, the musty smell still making Maka cringe.

"We believe that this riddle has something to do with his forge," Kid stated, giving her the letter. Gahn rolled her eyes at the line written.

"Seriously?" She said. "You didn't get this? This is easy."

"Alright then well what is it?"

"In order to build a weapon you have to heat the metal up first so that you can hammer and shape it."

"What does that have to do with the riddle?"

"Once you're done with shaping it you can't just use it right away so you have to heat it up and then put it in a vat of oil or water."

"How is that supposed help us with the answer?"

"It makes the weapon stronger." The others' jaws dropped when Gahn said what it did. They over thought about it way too much, and they were mentally smacking themselves for not asking Gahn in the first place.

Completely ignoring the two, she walked up to the vat that was on a stand. A massive wooden slide came down from the vat, around several mechanisms, and then up a wall through a pump and then down again to somewhere else in the wall.

"You didn't notice this before?" Gahn asked.

"No," Maka said, a bit embarrassed.

Gahn rolled her eyes and pulled a lever above the vat. A large gush of water came out of a barrel that was next to the vat. As the water level rose, water went through a hole and down the slide. When it got to the pump, the pump shot it up to a higher level and then it carried down the slide on the wall. Finally it disappeared behind the wall and then after a few moments, a large click was heard and a brick pushed out a bit.

Gahn removed the brick, revealing a button. When she pushed it the wall shifted, and a segment slide to the side revealing a passage way.

"I think I found where the key is."

The passage way was very dark, and certainly old. There were cob webs all over it and bits of moss everywhere on the walls and floor. The passage way led them down some winding stairs, the temperature decreasing as they went down. After what seemed like hours they reached the bottom of the stairs to a wooden door. It had a giant lock on it but because of the environment it was in, Gahn was able to pull the door completely off the hinges.

The next room, to their surprise was actually warm, completely the opposite to the stairs they were just in. It was well lit too, the torches were all aflame, lined up on the walls. Right at the end of the room, facing the door was a large pedestal. On it was a chest.

Opening the chest, Maka found a large fragment of a key. Noticing that there was something odd about the chest, Kid felt around, finding that there was a secret compartment. In it was a small piece of paper.

_To whoever finds this:_

_Congratulations on figuring out my riddle. The key found in this chest is one of the keys needed to find what I have hidden. _

_A6H1XZV_

_Stark._


	7. Chapter 7: Problem solved! Not

**A/N: Whew, you were probably wondering why I wasn't updating (jokes, I'm aware that you guys probably weren't). Anyways, this thing is long. I also may not be updating for about two week soon because of something I have to do so sorry about that. I'll try to but no promises. **

**As always, sorry about any spelling mistakes.**

**I don't have to do a disclaimer to I? I mean, I think it's obvious that I don't own Soul Eater.**

* * *

"A6H1XZV..." Maka said allowed. "What could it be?"

"Maybe it's a code," Kid stated. "I doubt it's a riddle, and Gahn did say that he enjoyed puzzles."

"If that's true, then what do we do with this code? I mean, there's nothing giving a clue about where the lock we're looking for is."

"Remember that these keys were hidden with the assumption that someone who knew him would be the one who found it. " Gahn reminded. "Asking someone might help."

"Why don't we go ask my father?"

* * *

"MAKA!" Spirit exclaimed.

"Go to hell papa." She growled, making Spirit cry in a corner.

Lord Death sighed and then turned to Maka and his son. "What can I do for you kiddo?"

"We found a key," Kid said, holding it up.

"Oh goody!" The death god bounced, taking the key from him to inspect it. "Is this for the weapon? How did you find it?"

Kid gave him the letter. When Lord Death finished reading it, he handed it back.

"I hope you like puzzles," Lord Death clapped his hands. "Because you're going to go through a lot of them."

"That's why we came here," Maka said. "We found what we believe is a code but we don't know what we're supposed to do with it."

"Enter it?" Lord Death tilted his head.

Kid sighed. "But where father?"

"I don't know," Lord Death said. "You should ask Spirit. He interacted with Stark a lot."

"Isn't there anyone else we could talk to?" Maka really didn't want to talk to her father.

"Nope."

"Fine…" Maka groaned, looking over to her father. Kid felt sympathetic for her as he saw her obvious displeasure.

* * *

"My Maka coming over to me for advice," Spirit hummed gleefully. "And to think that you hated me."

"I do, but this is important," she growled.

"We need to talk about Stark."

"Oh him," Spirit said, a bit disappointed. "He always said that I smothered you too much and that it would end badly with you hating me."

"Well he was right," Maka muttered, furrowing her brow.

"We found what we think is a code that he wrote. Do you know where it might go?" Kid interjected, trying to relieve some of the tension.

"I think his office is still in the academy," Spirit said, not really caring. "He made so many contraptions that were too complicated to remove. Check there."

"Kid can we please leave now?" Maka whispered

"MAKA MY SWEET LITTLE GIRL! PLEASE SPEND TIME WITH YOUR DADDY!" Spirit exclaimed.

"MAKA-CHOP"

"Go, go, go, go," Maka quickly pushed Kid out of the room. Grabbing his hand she ran as far away from her unconscious father as possible. When she was sure they were far away enough she stopped and sighed. Realising that she was still holding his hand, she immediately let go and blushed, looking away.

"S-sorry about that," she muttered. "I just can't stand being around him."

"N-no it's fine," Kid replied, blushing too. "Oh look, there's Stark's old office."

They walked into the old office, dust was floating around everywhere. There was massive pistons and pipes as well as complex machinery all over the room and the walls. A massive table that seemed to be a machine was lying in the far corner and there was a smaller machine next to it.

'I wonder what that does," Maka said, looking up at the ceiling. "It certainly seems odd."

What she was looking at was a machine that had a large metal piston sticking out of it that seemed to make a sharp L shape towards some tubes that were high up on a shelf.

"I don't know. I can see why father didn't bother trying returning the room to its original state."

Maka walked up to the strange contraption in the corner and looked at it. Then she looked at the small machine next to it. Fiddling around with it, she found that a piece moved. Sliding it up, she found a strange looking piece.

There were seven buttons lined up in a row and each button had a letter or number on it. When she pushed a button something shifted, causing the button to slide inwards and then rotate, changing the character. Then it slide back out again.

"There's nothing over here," Kid called out, inspecting the other side of the room. "Did you find anything?"

"Maybe," Maka replied. "Come take a look at this. This machine has buttons on it that could be where we need to put the code."

"How many buttons are there on it?"

Maka was about to say seven but then refrained from doing so, knowing that Kid might freak out over the unsymmetrical number. "The same amount as that code we found."

Kid came over and looked at it. "Have you tried putting in the characters"

"No I haven't. Let's see what happens when we do" Maka replied as began to do pushed in the characters, each doing the same as the last, sliding in, then rotating, then sliding out again.

Suddenly the roar of something starting up filled the room, startling the meisters. The contraption on the ceiling slide across the room on rails, stopping when it got to one of the shelves. Then the piston extended and the other piston making the L shape extended as well into one of the cabinets attaching monto the long metal pole that was in it. Then, sliding up to the two miesters, the pistons moved again, making the metal pole it attached to catch on to some pegs on the table, causing a piece of paper to be pulled out of the metal tube. Finally, it stopped moving when the piece of paper was fully extended on the table.

Then a segment of the floor in front of the table rumbled, and then slide down and to the side, revealing a light on a stand that slide up in its place. It turned on automatically and then shined on the piece of paper in a specific spot. Finally, a small compartment opened on the small machine next to the table. In it was a small piece of paper.

Taking the paper, Maka and Kid walked up to the table. The paper that was on the table was a map of Scotland and the light shined on marker labeled as a castle.

"I think we found where the next key is. What does that paper say?"

Maka held out the paper to kid.

_She likes light and gold is worth more than silver._

* * *

Lord Death sent them to Scotland as soon as they told him where the next key was, and made Gahn tag along. Soul, unfortunately wasn't very happy knowing Kid was coming with them. He complained, but Maka just criticised how stupid he was being and then decided to talk to Kid instead, which made his blood boil.

"So how are we going to get to this place?" Soul asked, thinking that the assignment was uncool. "I doubt we can take a car."

"Do you know how to ride a horse?" Gahn asked.

Maka shook her head, making her sigh.

"Alright well there is another way," she said. "Though, I didn't want to use it because of the risk of mistaken for a monster. And you also may not like it."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Kid said. "What is it?"

"Stand back for a second," Gahn warned. Suddenly, in a flash, Ghan's body changed. She had turned into a massive black wolf. They estimated she was ten feet tall at her shoulders. Kneeling down, Gahn gave them a gesture to get on.

"No," Liz refused. "I don't want to die."

"You don't die," Kid rolled his eyes. "Now get on and stop complaining.

Liz gave a reluctant nod and then climbed onto Gahn's back. When everybody was on, Gahn stood up again; Liz gave a yelp in surprise.

"WEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Patty exclaimed as Gahn bounded down the moors at top speed. She hopped over fences, large cliffs, hills almost anything, making the people on her back almost fall over more than once. Liz hung on for dear life, terrified.

* * *

"I am NEVER doing that again," Liz said.

"It was fun!" Patty exclaimed.

"This castle took a large beating," Maka said, looking at what remained of it. It was fairly intact, unlike most of the castle from its time that still remained, but there was a massive hole in one of the towers. Maka assumed it was from a cannonball. Her assumption was proved correct when she found a cannonball in the ruble behind the hole.

"It's almost as old as Krak de Chevaliers," Gahn stated as she walked into the castle through the hole. "Be careful. There are still probably some lose boulders here and there. This place is old."

They followed Gahn – who seemed to know the castle inside out – until they got to the courtyard.

"So what are you looking for?" Gahn asked.

Maka showed her the note. After a few moments Gahn suggested that they split up. Soul adamantly protested against Maka and Kid searching together and when he couldn't give a good enough reason for them not to, Gahn told him to quite complaining and shut up.

Liz, Patty, and Soul went exploring the west side of the castle, going through what was mainly the armoury and eating area. There were massive tables, which took up most of the room, and in one next to it was where there were bits and pieces of left over armour and weapons. Finding nothing, they went up the spiralling stairs that led outside to the top of the wall.

While the others were busy Gah, Kid and Maka explored the east side. The room they went through contained multiple cots, believed to be for the soldiers that were there. Most of the cots were made of hay, and wood, while some where simply tables with rails on their sides to keep the user from falling out.

The second room was a library, and Maka loved it. It wasn't full of many books, as most of them had been destroyed, but Maka loved the idea of the library being full of them. Kid chuckled as Maka stared at empty bookshelves with a look of awe across her face. He found it cute.

Realising that she wasn't going to be going anywhere anytime soon, he went into the last room. To his disappointment, it was completely empty. Sighing, he looked back at Maka who was still in the library. Seeing an oddly positioned book, Maka pulled it out of the bookshelf.

To her surprise, the book was actually attached to the shelf and made a little clicking noise. Letting go of the book and standing back, she watched as the bookshelf started to move. It moved inwards, and then shifted into a groove in the wall.

They quickly regrouped back at the courtyard, to tell each other about their findings. Liz reported that Patty had somehow found a giraffe statue, and that "Mr. Grumpy" just sulked around doing nothing, earning him a scold from Maka. Maka told them how she found a secret chamber in the library, and they immediately followed her to explore it.

The chamber, surprisingly, had lit torches up on the walls, most likely due to some magic. It was long, with lots of turns in it. Soul wouldn't stop complaining on how uncool the mission was, while Liz was worried because she found the place creepy. Maka and Kid didn't really care too much and continued walking and it was quite obvious that Gahn was completely unphased. Eventually they were led to a large room that had a single table in it and a door leading deeper.

"What was that?" Liz asked nervously.

"What? I didn't hear anything," Maka said.

"No she's right," Gahn stated, her ears twitching. "I can hear it too."

There was a large crash heard, coming from what seemed to be the direction of the other door.

_Thump._

_Thump._

_Thump._

The students waited tensely for whatever was going to come out.

Suddenly, a monster burst through the door and lunged for Gahn, who quickly dodged its attack. Realising it was a kishin, the other meisters ordered their weapons to transform. Kid quickly started firing at the kishin which turned around and charged for him. It slashed, left and then right, trying to attack Kid, but with no avail.

Seeing her opening, Maka, with Soul in her hands attacked it, but her attack did nothing. Surprised by what happened, she let down her guard, and the kishin lashed at her, sending her flying.

Getting up, Maka gripped onto Soul. "We need to resonate our souls."

Their souls began to resonate, but all of a sudden, Maka lost her concentration when she felt a sharp pain go through her body. They tried again, but with no avail.

_Soul's soul is rejecting Maka's. _Kid thought to himself. _This is bad.  
_"What the hell Soul?" Maka exclaimed while dodging attacks. "Why is your soul rejecting mine?"

"My soul?" Soul retorted. "It's your soul that's rejecting mine!"

Maka quickly gave another slash at the kishin. "How is this my fault? You're the one who's starting arguments with me over stupid thing! What's gotten into you Soul?"

Realising that the battle wasn't going well in their favour, Gahn pulled out her hammer. She quickly gave the kishin a blow, and then grabbed its arm. Then she threw it into a wall. As it got up, she transformed, and then charged straight for it.

"Sometimes the simplest way works best," she said as she dodged on of the kishin's attacks and then slashed its arm. Ducking, she grabbed onto its leg and then threw it onto its back. She dug her claws into the kishins chest, and slowly dragged her arms, making very deep gashes in its chest and then finally took out her hammer again, turned it into a knife and then stabbed it into the kishin's chest.

The kishin's body exploded and disappeared, leaving behind a giant soul. Grabbing it, Gahn tossed it to soul who then ate it.

"I really hope we don't run into anymore," Liz shivered.

"I don't smell anymore."

"Uh, you smell them?" Liz was confused. "How can you smell them?"

"I have a good sense of smell."  
"How?"

Gahn rolled her eyes and ignored her question. "Let's get going. I think we're almost there."

Eventually the tunnel ended, leading them to a very small cave-like room. There were a few torches on the wall, and a statue of a women with a sword standing against the wall opposite to them. On both side of her were two candle holders and another one was located on the pommel of her sword with a gold candle in it. To the left of the entrance was a bookshelf, full of candles.

"Dead end," Soul mumbled. "Now can we go?"

"I don't think someone would build a tunnel like this to hide a statue," Maka said.

"What does the piece of paper you found say?" Liz asked. "Is there anything that has to do with this statue?"

"It said that 'she likes light,'" Maka replied.

"So then maybe those candles have something to do with it," Kid suggested.

Maka walked over to the bookshelf, looking at the candles. There were many of them, all in a variety of different colours. There were gold ones, silver ones, neon ones, and even rainbow ones. Picking some candles off the bookshelf, she put them into the candle holders and then lit them using a torch from the wall.

"Nothing," Soul stated. "Now can we go?"

"No," Maka hissed. "Stop complaining."

"Did the note say anything else?"

"Let's see," Maka said, getting out the note. "It says that gold is worth more than silver."

"So then more gold candles then silver candles," Kid stated.

"But how do we know how many to put in?"

"Well there's already one gold candle in a holder and there's five holders," Gahn said. "So in try a total of three gold candles and two silver ones."

Sure enough, when Maka lit them with the torch, they heard a rumbling noise. Then a section of one of the walls slide down, revealing a passage. Following down it, they were led to one final room. In it contained a lone chest surrounded by candles. Opening it, Maka found a key and another note.

"What does the note say?" Kid asked, leaning over her shoulder. Maka blushed a bit when he did. Soul, Liz and Patty also came over to see what it said.

_Well done. I pray that whoever is reading this is a part of the DWMA because otherwise I would assume that it has been destroyed. How else could you have gotten into my office? _

_Where this place is, varies from person to person, and is almost always constantly changing. It is considered to be is also very subjective, and the definition is something that almost never helps define what it is. The key is hidden in the place that most people feel is safe._


	8. Chapter 8: Girls Night

**A/N: Sorry about the update. Trust me after this chapter the story will start getting a bit interesting. **

* * *

"I can't believe that I'm doing this," Maka sighed, looking at the house in front of her. Liz had decided that they hadn't had a girls night for a while, and invited everyone to the mansion – invited being a very loosely applied term – as soon as they got home from Scotland. Maka declined the offer, saying that she'd much rather read, or spend time figuring out the clue that Stark had left behind but Liz wouldn't have it. She ignored Maka's protests and simply told her what time to arrive. Maka was going to not come but realising that she wouldn't hear the end of it, she unhappily went.

Maka knocked on the door, doing it eight times in case Kid was the one who heard her, and then patiently waited until she heard the clicks of the locks opening. Kid let her in, and then told her that he was going to be up in his room if they needed anything. Maka gave him a quick thanks and then headed on in to meet the girls.

Liz was sprawled on one end of a couch while patty was on the other and Tsubaki sat on the couch across from them. Smiling, Maka sat on the opposite side of the couch next to Tsubaki.

"Where's Gahn?" Patty asked, looking confused.

"Didn't you invite her?" Tsubaki asked, looking at Liz.

"Yeah," Liz sighed. "But she said she had other things to do. Really I think she just didn't want to come."

"I can see why," Maka muttered.

"It's a shame really," Liz continued. "If I knew her address I would drag her ass back here."

"And how exactly would you plan on doing that?" Maka scoffed.

"With this!" Patty smiled, holding up some chains.

"With chains?" Tsubaki gasped.

"Gahn could break out of chains in a mere amount of seconds," Maka stated.

"Yeah but those chains are made of silver. Werewolves' weakness is silver."

"So you want to wrap her in silver chains and bring her over here?" Tsubaki was a bit unsettled. "That could kill her!"

"No, she'll be fine. These chains have very little silver in them," Liz said slyly. "She'll only be unable to use any of her werewolf powers and she'll be weaker."

"So all we need is her address!" Patty giggled while the other two teens looked at the sisters flabbergasted by their plan.

"Does one of you know where she lives?" Liz gave Maka a very creepy look.

"Why are you looking at me?" Maka asked nervously.

"Get her patty."

Maka gave out a shriek as Patty tackled her of the couch and onto the ground. She quickly found herself tied up in chains, and then tied up with more chains to a chair. Patty and Liz stood over her with creepily evil smirks on while Tsubaki was on the couch trying to convince them that there was no need for chaining Maka to a chair.  
"Where does she live," Liz asked.

"I'm not telling you!"

"Do you want us to burn your book?" Liz asked, holding a candle close to the book Maka had brought along with her.

"You wouldn't!" Maka cried.

"Then tell us where she lives."

"I'm not falling for your bluff!"  
"Alright then," Liz put down the book and sighed. "If this way isn't working then I guess I'll just have to let Patty do the convincing."

"3895 Felixclan Drive," Maka blurted out.

Liz gave her a grin and then untied her. After that, she and her sister dragged Maka to Gahn's house with Tsubaki trailing behind trying to stop them. To their surprise, Gahn's house was fairly large. It wasn't as big as the mansion of course, but it did have three storiesLiz knocked on the wooden door using the large snarling wolf door knocker. There was a click and then what sounded like something sliding. Finally, Gahn opened the door.

"What?" She asked, holding her hammer and wearing welding gloves. "Is it anything important?"

She was about to close the door when she saw the look on Liz's face but Patty burst through the door, almost knocking it off its hinges. Gahn dodged with ease but then Liz flung the silver chains at her, hitting her straight in the head. Gahn immediately fell to the ground, dazed. Grabbing the chains, Liz wrapped Gahn around with them, and then started to drag her out of her house, and then closed the door.

"Patty," she grunted, starting to lift up Gahn. "Help me would you?"

When they got back to the mansion, Kid opened the door, and rolled his eyes at the sight of the girls dragging Gahn wrapped in chains.

"Do I even want to know?"

Maka shook her head.

"Sorry about that," Maka said, hastily unwrapping her. "Tsubaki and I tried to stop her but we failed."

When she was finally free, Gahn gave Liz a very harsh glare. "If you really wanted me to come over you could have just said so."

"Whatever," Liz sighed, waving her hand, clearly not interested. "Why don't we do something fun like truth or dare?"

"No!" Maka protested.

"That's fine with me…" Tsubaki said.

"It doesn't matter to me," Gahn said, not interested whatsoever.

"Maka! Truth or Dare?"

"Why me?" Maka asked. "Fine, truth.

"Have you lost your viginity?"

"What kind of question is that?" Maka shouted. "You know damn well what the answer to that is! Ask something else. And no, it can't be anything sexually related."

"Oh, you're no fun," Liz feigned sadness. "Fine then, if you could date someone who would it be?"

"Kid," Maka stated. "Because he's not insane."

"Gahn, truth or dare?" Liz asked.

"Truth."

"How strong is this weapon we're looking for exactly?"

"How do I put this in simple terms," Gahn said out loud. "Take the Kishin Hunter and make it over ten times stronger. Pretty much Free's immortality wouldn't matter at all if he was hit with it."

"Tsubaki, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"How do you feel about Blackstar as a partner."

"He's can be kind of reckless some times," Tsubaki stared. "And sometimes he doesn't always thing things thoroughly first but –"

"So basically he's a pain in the ass," Gahn interrupted

"I wasn't going to say that!"

"But that's what you meant."

"No! Not at all!"

Their game of truth or dare was actually quite bland. None of the girls except Patty actually chose dare and the dares were really unexciting because they couldn't think of any. Gahn would always answer in the vaguest way possible, practically not even answering the question.

"Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"How come you know so much about Stark?"

"That's none of your business."

"You didn't answer the question."

"But I told you the truth."

They had gotten so bored of playing the "stupid game" that they just went off topic and started talking about something else.

"Hey Maka?" Liz asked. "Do you like anyone?"

"Maybe," Maka blushed.

"Is it Kid?"

"M-m-me liking Kid? Tha-that's ridiculous!"

"I'm not buying it," Liz said. "You totally do."

"I – I," Maka stuttered. "What would make you say something so ridiculous?"

"I can tell you're lying Maka," Gahn stated. "You're also blushing."

"Was it that obvious?"

"Hell yeah," Liz said. Tsubaki timidly raised her hand to agree with Liz.

"It was actually really cute how you reacted around him the other day," she added.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Maka exclaimed.

"I thought that you were doing it intentionally," Tsubaki muttered.

"I didn't want to say anything," Gahn yawned. "It's not any of my business."

"It's not like he likes me back or anything," Maka shifted uncomfortably.

"He totally does!" Liz said.

"And if you're wrong?" Maka interjected.

Gahn rolled her eyes at Maka's comment. _Love is too complicated for my liking._

"I'm sure there's no harm in asking him," Tsubaki said, looking at her. "It's better to know if he does then to live with the doubt of him not."

"Maybe…"

"Hey I know," Liz grinned. "Why don't we lock the two of you in a janitors closet?"

"No," Maka glared. "That is one of the worst ideas I have ever heard."

"Pfft," Liz didn't care. "Who cares? It'll work."

* * *

Kid sniffed the air. He was reading his book when suddenly this strange smell started to come from downstairs. Sniffing the air again, he realised it was smoke. He was going to go down stairs and see what was going on when he heard Liz scream.

"PATTY! YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED IN THE KITCHEN! REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED LAST TIME?"

Grabbing the pan that had a flaming piece of meat in it, Liz quickly ran over to the sink and threw it in cold water. Then she grabbed a bucket, filling it with water and then chucked it at the fridge that had somehow caught on fire, all the while Patty laughed hysterically. Maka and Tsubaki quickly ran into the kitchen and did the same, dousing every single flame they could find.

Sighing, Gahn turned a fork into a mop and then started to mop up the mess on the floor. Maka got on her hands and knees with a cloth while Tsubaki started to clean the counters. Liz scolded her younger sister which proved to be completely useless.

"Hey guys," Tsubaki said. "What's this?"

The other girls came over to her to see what she saw. What she was pointing at was a small strange crest on one of the tiles on a wall just above the counters.

"I don't know," Liz replied. "It's been there for a while. I've asked Kid before and all he's said was that it was a work of perfect symmetry."

"It looks like it pushes in," Maka said. "Have you tried pushing it?"

"And risk having bugs crawl out of that hole?" Liz cringed. "No."

Maka rolled her eyes and then pushed the tile. It slid inwards, and after what sounded like a click, other tiles shifted, moving and rotating. Finally another panel was revealed containing four letters on panels.

"It's exactly like the one we found in his office!" Maka exclaimed. "The code must be the answer to that note we found.

"The definition almost never helps define it," Tsubaki said out loud as she read it.

"It varies from person to person," Liz sighed.

"The place where most people think is safe," Maka said, furrowing her brow. "What could it be?"

"Home?" Patty suggested. "I mean that's where people usually run to if their close to it."

"Maybe," Maka replied, starting to punch in the letters. "Let's see."

There was a few more clicks and then the sounds of things sliding. The panel that was revealed then folded inwards and then slid down, revealing a secret compartment.

"Wow," Liz huffed. "I never would've guessed that Patty would figure out something like that."

"Well I think we found another key," Maka stated, pulling out a small chest. "This looks exactly like the other ones we've found."

Sure enough, the chest contained a fragment of a key – it's match was probably the other fragment they found when stumbling around Stark's old house – and a letter.

_Congratulations for solving my riddle. The other keys I hid could've been found just by accident without figuring out the puzzles in the letters but this one of course, couldn't have so now I know that if you've found this you have a brain._

_I sometimes wonder Lord Death, if you ever figured out what this might be. Knowing you, you probably didn't notice how randomly there was a strange looking tile in the middle of your kitchen. Even if you did actually know what it might be for you would have been able to open it because of the seals I put on it that would only break if you had found the previous keys. _

_Go to Ashtville._

_Stark._


	9. Chapter 9: Why?

**A/N: Thank you for the review, although, some were a bit hard to understand. Anyways, I'd like to say that this is KidxMaka fanfiction so that means they're the couple in this story. **

**It also appears that you guys seemed to enjoy having an idea/ teaser about what is going to happen next so I'll put one in at the bottom. **

* * *

"Ah Maka," Lord Death bounced as everyone came through the door. "What are you doing here?"

Maka handed him the fragment they had found and the letter. Lord Death looked at it and then turned his head a bit as he read through it.

"You know, I never actually noticed that there was a random tile in the middle of our kitchen that didn't match the rest of them," He said, making Kid sweat drop. "I don't remember Stark ever putting it there either."

"Father," Kid started, attempting to get him back on track. "There was a town mentioned in the letter. We believe that is where the next key is."

"I see. And where is it?"

"Ashtville."

The name made Gahn's eyes widen.

"That village was burned down years ago," Lord Death sighed. Maka noticed that Gahn was looking at the ground and clenching her fist and jaw as Lord Death told them about it. "Apparently no one survived but if you truly believe that is where the key is then I will send you there."

"Thank you," Tsubaki bowed. Assuming there was nothing else to say, they decided to take their leave. As the group of students walked down the hallway Maka couldn't help notice that Gahn wasn't looking up, and her frown wasn't the usual neutral face she normally wore. She could tell something was bothering her.

"Are you okay?" She asked. "You seemed a bit out of it when Lord Death told us about what happened to the town."

"Yeah…" Gahn said. "I'm fine."

"You sure don't look okay," Soul grumbled.

"I SAID I'M FINE," Gahn snapped, quickening her pace and walking away from them. "Tell me when you're about to leave."

The group stared at Gahn as she walked away. After several moments passed Liz finally spoke up. "I know we don't know very much about Gahn, I don't think she's fine."

* * *

Gahn entered her house, pausing at the door to her bedroom. Looking at the key she had around her neck she sighed and then leaned against the wall and slide down it.

"Why?"

* * *

The group was worried as they saw Gahn approach them, ready to travel to their destination. She was still acting depressed and totally out of it. After their incident after their meeting with Lord Death they hadn't seen Gahn until the current day. They tried to contact her but there was never any answer. They knocked on her door but she wouldn't answer either. All they knew was that she wasn't dead because Maka would make frequent stops by the house at night to see one of the lights in a room on the second floor on.

"Come on Gahn! How dare you look so glum in front of your god!" Blackstar exclaimed. They knew that even though it sounded like he was being self centered he was actually trying to get Gahn to be less depressed.

"Shut up nobody cares," Gahn growled animalistically. "When are we leaving?"

"Right now," Kid replied, getting on Beelzebub as Liz and Patty turned into their weapons and Maka got onto Soul's motorcycle.

"Good," Gahn turned into her giant wolf form, then let Blackstar and Tsubaki get onto her back and then make sure that the bags containing what they needed was strapped onto her carefully. "Let's get going."

The trip was only about a few hours away from Death City but because of the way Gahn had been acting, they were barely able to strike up a conversation, making the trip seem like more than a few. Maka tried to ask if the reason Gahn was acting the way she was had to do with the burning of the village but Gahn simply ignored her, pretending she didn't hear her even though they all knew Gahn could hear someone talking on the other side of Death City easily.

"Just leave her be," Tsubaki said. "If she doesn't want to talk about something we should respect that."

When they arrived at their destination Gahn stopped to let Blackstar and Tsubaki off. Then she turned back to normal.

What they saw was not what they were expecting. The houses were all destroyed to rubble, as if it had just experienced a bombing and wooden planks and metal was scattered everywhere. It was a horrible.

As they approached one of the remaining walls of what used to be a building they saw a charred skeleton lying on the ground. Liz cringed as they walked passed it. The remains of bricks and stones lying on the ground nearby suggested that the building was fairly complex and actually took up a giant beside the skeleton was sign. It was hard to read because of the fact that it was charred but, with little effort, Maka was able to make out what most of it said.

_Orph-_

She couldn't read the rest. Looking over, she saw Gahn, still not bothering to look up.

"Hey look over there!" Patty exclaimed, pointing to one of the destroyed walls located far from them. "It looks like there's something on the wall."

Curious, they followed her until they got to what she was pointing at. It was a wall that had been destroyed only a bit, and the remaining ones around it looked as if they had broken due to falling cement. Attached to it was a long chain and what looked like a metal collar. When they looked closer there was a lock on it.

"What is this?" Blackstar stared at it. "A slave collar?"

"DON'T TOUCH THAT!" Gahn hastily cried.

"Why not? I'M GOD! I can tough what I want," Blackstar glared. "Why do you even care? It's just an old collar on a chain."

Gahn ran up to him in a flash, then ripped him off the collar and punched him into the ground.

"IF YOU EVER TOUCH THAT COLLAR AGAIN I WILL RIP YOUR HEART OUT OF YOUR CHEST INFRONT OF YOU," she snarled, baring her fangs; a reaction that the others were not expecting from the usually reserved girl. "Do. You. Understand?"

"Alright, alright," Blackstar said, realising she was dead serious.

"Good," She replied, taking a key that was around her neck off. Silently, she put the key into the hole and turned it, unlocking the collar, making everybody gasp. After several moments, Gahn sighed and then stood up. "It's getting late. Perhaps we should get search in the morning."

The others simply nodded, unsure how to react after what they had just seen. They quickly set up camp, barely talking to each other, unsure what to do in their situation. Once the tents were pitched and the fire was up Gahn started cooking. When everything was done she excused herself and then went away.

Liz gave out a huge sigh, relieved that the tension from being around Gahn was gone. "No offense but I'm glad she's left for a bit."

"I wonder why she acted like that," Maka said, looking up. "She acted so viciously this afternoon."

"I feel that Gahn probably has some connection to this place, and seeing it was too much to bear," Tsubaki said. "It would explain why she's upset."

"It just worries me that she won't talk to anyone."

"In case you haven't noticed," Soul muttered. "She doesn't enjoy talking to anyone don't worry about it."

"How can I not?" Maka glared. "I mean, she's been acting completely different ever since we got here."

"Now that you mention it," Liz started. "Where is she?"

Realising that Gahn had been away for some time, Liz, Patty, Kid, Maka and Tsubaki went to find her. Gahn hadn't strayed far, and was finishing hammering a cross into the ground. Sighing, she made sure the dirt was patted down nicely and then stared at it.

"Why?"

* * *

"Hey look over here!" Maka called to everyone. "I think I found it!"

She managed to find what looked like a carving similar to the one found in the Gallows mansion on a pedestal located not too far off from the camp. When she pushed it the pedestal and the tiled pattern on the ground slid, revealing a passage way. Clearly nobody had been down there for years.

Everyone except Gahn decided to follow Maka into the musty place. They had gone so deep underground if it weren't for the torches on the walls, they would not have been able to see past their own hands. Liz shuddered thinking about ghosts that could dwindle around in tunnel.

"I highly doubt you're going to find a ghost down here," Kid stated, sighing.

"HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT HUH?"

"Liz calm down. Even if there were ghosts and spirits down here the chances of them actually wanting to hurt us are very low."

"Their ghosts!"

"We're here," Maka stated, ignoring the squabbling of Liz. The tunnel led them to a small room that had a shrine in it, clearly meant for the Death god. There was a giant carving of his signature mask on the wall behind the table. On it was a chest that looked exactly like the previous ones they had found. Maka approached, and reached out to open it when she felt a shock of pain, making her step back.

"What's wrong?" Liz asked.

"There's some kind of barrier."

"Let me try!" Blackstar exclaimed. "No barrier can hold me, a god back!"

Unfortunately, the seal did not care one bid about how godly Blackstar was, and gave him a shock that was double the one it gave to Maka.

"How are we supposed to get the key?" Liz muttered. "We can't even get near it."

"Maybe there's a clue here," Kid added.

They looked around but found nothing. All that was in the room was the table, torches on the walls and the carving behind it. The carving behind it didn't contain anything that looked like a clue either. It was simply a carving probably made by Stark to show that he was a part of the DWMA.

"Kid," Maka said, not looking away from the carving. "You try."

Kid reached out his hand. Surprisingly, he didn't feel a shock at all and proceeded to open the chest. He was about to read what the letter said when suddenly they heard a loud noise come from outside.

They rushed back to the surface as fast as they could. When they got to the surface they froze at they saw. Gahn was standing still looking at the ground, and someone else was standing on the other side of her.

The man was about to attack them but then stopped when he heard Gahn speak.

"Don't hurt them," She mumbled.

"Trying to be protective are you?" He snarled. "Are you planning on doing what you did with him?"

Gahn's eyes widened at his comment. "How do you know about that?"

"I was there remember?" He stated slyly. "If only you hadn't left."

Gahn clenched her fist, unable to look up or speak.

"You couldn't even protect them," He sneered. "Everyone you ever cared about is gone. You're weak. You can't possibly think that you can protect them. Not after everything that's happened."

He lashed at Gahn, who made no effort to avoid his attack, sending her flying into the ruins of the building behind her. Gahn simply stood up out of the rubble, and stared at the ground, not making eye contact with him. Maka was about to go and help her but Tsubaki put her hand on her shoulder, and shook her head.

"If you hadn't left then he would still be alive. If you hadn't fallen then maybe she would still be alive. It's your fault their dead."

"Shut up," Gahn said. "You don't know anything."

She ran towards him, about to punch him, when he grabbed her arm and then threw her into the ground. Gahn got up again and immediately made a bee-line straight for him, but he dodged her and kicked her into a wall.

"Pathetic. This is even easier then when I killed him."

"SHUT UP!" Gahn screamed, enraged by what he was saying. She attacked him again and again, using her maul trying to smash him, but every time he dodged. Her movements were sloppy because of her rage and she easily left out openings. He grabbed her, and then pinned her to the ground.

"Time to do what I came here to do," He pulled out a knife, stabbing Gahn, making her groan in pain. "So stubborn. You won't even admit that you're in pain."

Maka couldn't stand it. She rushed towards the man, catching Soul as he turned into a scythe. She could feel the burning feeling from holding him that appeared due to their recent arguments. Doing her best to ignore it, she swung Soul at him, sending him back.

"Damn you," the man hissed.

Maka glared at him, and sent a final blow to his chest, digging Soul deep into him. His body disappeared in a flash, leaving a kishin egg floating. She quickly rushed over to Gahn, hoping that she was okay.

"That knife contained a massive amount of silver in it!" Maka cried. "We have to get her back to the academy quickly!"


	10. Chapter 10: Answers

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews, I looked over the description I gave Gahn and I think it's fine but knowing me I will end up going back and fixing it so thanks for the input. **

**Katie: Thanks for the review and the suggestions. Unfortunately I can't really use them just because of the plot set out but! I will be using one of them. I liked your idea for Gahn and Stark, but if you read this chapter and the next, you will understand why I didn't want them to be related. **

* * *

Maka sighed. She kept on thinking about Gahn. Soul said she was worry too much but how could she not? Everyone was worried. Not only was Gahn acting weird, she almost died. Everything was getting complicated fast to the extent in which Maka wasn't sure she knew what was going on.

"Are you Okay?" Kid asked, sitting beside her. "You seem deep in thought."

"I was just thinking about Gahn," Maka replied. "I'm worried."

"You too? Well I wouldn't worry too much about it. Besides, Nygus said she would be fine."

"I know but still…" Maka paused. "I can't help but worry about Gahn keeping things bottled up."

"I don't know, but if she's anything like me, opening up to people isn't exactly easy."

The two meisters sat beside each other for a while until Maka spoke up again. "Anyways," she began, trying to get off the topic. "What did that letter say?"

Kid pulled it out of his pocket and gave it to her.

_Congratulations for finding the last key. At this stage, I pray and hope that you are not going to use this for misdeeds. As you may or may not know, I hid the machine in case anything happened. _

_Follow the corvidae to my sanctuary. _

_I have fears that the royal family is going to be involved with Asura, and deep down in my heard I know that this weapon may be the only thing to stop it. _

_Lord Death, please note that when you find the machine, we might meet again and while you are there, though my presence is not certain, the presence of someone else who I hope for you to take to the academy, will be._

_I fear they already know about this weapon, so keep it safe. _

_-Stark._

"Who are the royal family?" Maka asked. "They keep on popping up in these letters."

"The royal family refers to the Royal Family of Werewolves, the family that the queen or king of werewolves comes from. Unlike other werewolves, they are what are considered pure werewolves. In a way you could say that they are purebreds."

"What makes so special?"

"They, unlike other werewolves, have a direct relationship to the moon through their blood. Royal werewolves have the ability to transform into all beast forms while a regular werewolf can only transform into one of them. It's a bit hard to explain but basically: if you witnessed a fight between a fully powered royal werewolf and a fully powered regular werewolf like Free then the royal werewolf win in less than three minutes."

Maka walked up to the bookshelf and then pulled out a book. "So who's the current ruler right now?"

"Markus Carnin. He's a cruel man who murdered his own parents and his sister as well as her husband."

"So I take it he's not allied with the DWMA."

"No. In fact, surprisingly considering his family was allied with the DWMA for a very long time, he hate us. Nobody knows why though."

Maka pulled out a book on the Royal Family. Inside was a family tree of the past few generations of them. The family only seemed to have a proceeding generation of one, with the exception of the last generation, which was the one that Markus was from.

"His sister was supposed to be the heir to the throne, but then he got jealous," Kid stated. "I think you know how it goes from there."

"His sister's name was Ashley. Apparently she was a kind, compassionate person who was also serious though. She was generally down to earth and a polite person as well as very knowledgeable. She is described as being very pretty and her eyes apparently rivaled emeralds."

"Sounds like their describing you," Kid slipped out. He immediately slapped his hands over his mouth, hoping that she didn't hear what he said. Maka blushed at his comment and then tried her best to pretend that she wasn't bothered by his comment.

Looking further down the page, she saw the date for when she died. _February 18 1996. _When Maka saw the picture of Ashley she gasped. The women had long black hair and emerald green eyes. The face she was giving in the picture was a rather stern face, instead of something gentle like someone would imagine using just the description.

"T-this picture…."

"Maka? Is something wrong?" Kid asked, coming over to her.

"She looks exactly like…"

* * *

"Hey," Maka said, walking into the room. Gahn was currently sitting up in the bed. "How are you holding up?"

"I've been through worse."

"You had us very worried. I mean, you were stabbed with something that had a massive amount of silver in it."

"He didn't stab me anywhere that would give me a serious wound luckily."

After a moment of awkward silence Maka finally spoke up. "I know you don't want to talk about it," she began. "But I just want to let you know that no matter what, we're here for you."

"How can you trust someone so easily Maka?"

"What do you mean?"

"Never mind," Gahn said. "Just forget I said anything."

* * *

"Hey Maka?" Kid began, blushing a bit.

"Yeah Kid?" She replied, turning around.

"I – I just wanted to say that I've enjoyed spending time with you…"

"Me too…" Maka said. "We don't really spend much time together because of the others but I enjoy the few moments we have together. I don't have to worry about them getting in trouble, and it's nice to talk to someone without having to worry about someone telling you that you're being to worrisome."

"Same here."

There was a pause, both teens blushing until finally Maka spoke up. "I know we've only gotten to spend time together because you father thought we would be the best for research during this but I-I would like to do this some more with you when this is over."

"I'd like that too," Kid blushed more. "Listen Maka, I -"

He wasn't able to finish his sentence. Liz, Patty, and Tsubaki raced into the room. "Kid!" Liz exclaimed. "We have a problem!"

"What?" Maka was worried.

"I-it's Gahn," Tsubaki said. "She's disappeared."

"What?"

"Nygus checked up on Gahn, and then left the room so she could let Gahn rest," Liz explained. "We came to visit her not too long after, but when we opened the door she was gone."

"Gahn was gone!" Patty giggled a bit. "Seriously though, we don't know where she went."

"We have to find her!"

* * *

"Father!" Kid rushed into death room, the others following. "Gahn's missing! Do you know where she might have gone?"

"Calm down Kiddo," Lord Death pleaded. "I don't."

"Do you know where she lived before she joined the academy?"

"No I don't. She came to us, and then stayed in a home here because of how long her previous job for us was taking."

"You should check her house. Maybe there's something there."

* * *

The group ran to her house as soon as they could, but nobody answered. Turning the knob, Maka realized that the door wasn't locked. She opened the door slowly, the door creaking. Peering inside, they looked around. No one. Liz flicked on the lights so they could get a better view of the inside.

There were no traces of anyone being there recently. They cautiously stepped in, and looked around the kitchen and the living room which were connected together. There was nothing. Everything was sparkling clean, as if it hadn't been touched, and the couches seemed as if nobody had used them. If it weren't for the sword hanging on the wall they would have never guessed that Gahn would have lived there.

"Maybe there's something in one of the rooms that can tell us."

As they headed up the empty stairs and through the hallway, they took note of every little detail they could. It wasn't much though. The walls were empty, and so was the hall. There were no pictures, decorative pieces, nothing.

The first room they went to was completely empty with the exception of the dust clumps on the floor. The second room and the third actually appeared to be modified so that they were connect due to the wall separating them missing. There was a forge, an anvil, tools, drilling machines and grinders. Anything needed for building weapons. It was obvious what the room was for.

The only other room remaining was assumed to be Gahn's bedroom. They pushed open the large oak doors only to find a fairly small room. There was a single bed with a desk next to it and a closet as well as a window. The room was no bigger than Maka's.

"For a bedroom this sure is plain," Liz commented, looking at the purely white walls. "I thought for sure her bedroom would've looked different."

Maka rolled her eyes and then walked up to desk. There wasn't really anything on her desk worth taking note of. Most of the stuff on her desk was for smithing. A pair of tongs sat there, next to lose papers with diagrams on them.

"Did you find anything?" Kid asked.

"Maybe," something caught her eye. Rummaging through her papers she found what appeared to be a map. There was a large circle drawn around an area not too far off from the academy.

"There's a forest called Ravenwood that's been circled on this map."

"Then maybe that's where she's heading."

"I can faintly detect her soul using my soul perception," Maka added. "And I think it's coming from that direction."

They rushed out of her house as soon as they could and quickly ran towards the direction they believed that Gahn's soul was. Soul had suggested taking his motorcycle, but they decided there was no time. Kid offered Maka a ride on Beelzebub but she declined, saying it would probably hard with her carry Soul. Of course, everyone knew it was because of Soul's strange newly formed jealousy towards Kid.

"Where are we going?" Liz asked. The surrounding area that they approached was a dense forest, but it gave a vibe that Liz didn't like. They could hear the echoing sound of raven's cawing. "Why would she come here?"

"I'm sure this place isn't as bad as you think," Tsubaki tried to reassure her.

"We need to find Gahn," Maka said. "I can feel her soul's close by."

They group followed Maka as she led them through the forest. They had to cross more than one large river that stretched out over twelve feet wide, and up past cliffs that were at least twenty feet high. The trip was long, frustrating and tiring. The further they went, the more it appeared that they were lost.

"Lost in a forest in the middle of know where," Liz started to freak out. "This isn't good."

"Calm down," Maka said. "We aren't lost. I can see a path over there."

They stepped out of the forest and onto the dirt path. Curious, they followed it, up hills and winding around trees until they got to somewhere they were never expecting to come across. A house was standing in the middle forest. It looked like it hadn't been used for years.

"Why would a house be here?" Maka asked herself.

"Do you sense Gahn's soul near here?" Kid asked.

"Yeah," she replied. "It's coming from a bit beyond this house."

"Then we'd better look around back."

There were blood stains that trailed around the back of the house, and the amount of blood was huge. The group worried, thinking of the possibility that the blood may have been Gahn's.

Gahn's body was on the ground, she was lying on her side in front of a wooden cross that had been put in the ground. She was still alive luckily, and had just passed out from exertion so they dragged her into the house, and put her in an empty bed.

When Gahn woke up, she could hear the mumbling of people talking. When she opened her eyes she was greeted with the faces of those she had come to spend time with at the DWMA.

"Are you okay?" Maka said. "We were so worried."

"When you just took off we freaked out and looked everywhere for you!" Liz exclaimed. "Why did you run off? Does this have do with what happened before."

"I'm sorry for worrying you," Gahn didn't look at them. "Don't take this personally, but I'm not willing to discuss this with someone right now."

"Alright, well," Tsubaki started. "We're here for you."

And then they left.

As Liz closed the door to the room, she sighed. "I'm starting to get worried," she said. "Whatever seems to be on her mind really is upsetting her.

"We already know that," Soul said. "But we can't exactly do anything if we don't know what's going on."

"What was that thing we found her next to?" Maka asked.

"I believe that was a grave," Kid replied.

"Of who?" Tsubaki inquired.

"Why don't look?"

They around back to where they Gahn passed out, hoping to find a name on the grave, but the grave had been through some wear, so it was hard to read what was put there. The name carved into it looked like it was done by a child too, so it was even harder to read.

"I can make out an S, an R, and a K," Tsubaki said. "But that's it."

"Who are you?" The voice startled everyone.

"What was that?" Liz whimpered.

Before their eyes, a man appeared. He was clearly a ghost, translucent, and floating. He also an echo in his voice. Liz whimpered as she saw him, remembering her time on the time on the ghost ship.

"Do not be afraid," he said in a soothing voice. "I will not harm you."

The man was tall, generally robust and he had a beard, as well as short hair. He wore a vest and a T-shirt with a few holes in them around his chest area. Judging by his other features, Kid estimated that his age was around the same as the teachers at the academy. He looked back at the messy carved name on the cross and then his eyes widened.

"Who are you?" he asked. "Why are you here?"

"We're from the DWMA," Maka spoke up. "We were worried about Gahn and we found her here."

"Ah the DWMA," he started. He scratched his head a bit and then looked at them. "Now that you mention it, you do have the Sanzu lines. You must be Death the Kid."

"Yes," Kid nodded.

"And you," he pointed to Maka. "Are you Maka?"

Maka gasped. "How do you know who I am?"

"You've changed a lot," he gave a small smile. "Tell me, was I right about the outcome of your fathers smothering?"

"You're," she gasped. "Stark Frawning."

The ghost gave a grin. "That is correct," he answered. "What brings you here?"

"As we said before," Kid spoke. "We were worried about our friend Gahn."

"Are you really her friends?"

"Of course we are," Maka replied.

"I see," he said. "Sorry if that sounded rude it's just that... After what happened, it's too hard to believe."

"What happened?" Kid asked.

"Normally I won't tell someone something so personal of another's to them, but Gahn's mind is clouded with suffering," he sighed. "She need to know that there are people like you who she can trust, but after what happened, it's hard for her to open up to anyone and I know that she's not going to tell anyone what happened."

They watched as the ghost looked like he was deeply hurt. "Go to Ashtville. When you come back I'll tell you everything."


	11. Chapter 11: Lies

**A/N: Alright well now it's actually going somewhere. Please note that I made this back story for one of my original characters that I created so do not steal this idea. I WORKED HARD ON THIS OKAY? **

* * *

To their surprise, Ashtville was a lot closer to where they were then they had ever imagined. Stark told them to go down the path that was in front of the house and to follow it. After about two hours they found themselves back at the ruins.

"Alright, well now that we're here," Liz said. "What do we do now?"

"Considering this has to do with Gahn," Maka replied. "I imagine we have to go to a place Gahn may have been."

"That old building," Kid stated. "That's where we're supposed to go."

As they approached the remains of the building again, Maka noticed something. Noticing that she had stopped, the others stopped too, curious to see what she was doing. Kneeling on the ground, she found a large piece of wood with something written on it. She looked at the destroyed sign that was beside her and then back at the wood in her hand. Standing, she fit the piece of wood with the sign. It fit perfectly.

_Orhpanage._

Suddenly they heard what sounded like a hushed voice. At first they thought it was nothing, but then they heard a sound again as they approached the collar that was attached to the wall. It was clearer the second time, and sounded like someone talking. Then it started to get louder. It sort of sounded like a woman. "Who's there?" Kid called out.

After a few moments, a ghost appeared. The ghost was clearly that of a woman, the long hair being the first giveaway. She wore a gentle smile on her face and appeared to be wearing a skirt as well as a dress shirt. There were rip marks all over her clothes, and scratches on her face. She had clearly been through some wear. She looked to be about their age; they pitied that she died so young.

"What are you doing back here?" The ghost asked. It was confused; seeing someone come back again was something that wasn't common. "I can't think of any reason for someone to want to come back here."

"Again?" Liz asked. "You mean you were here before?"

"Yes," the ghost nodded. "I have been bound to this place so I am unable to really travel anywhere else."

"Then why didn't we see you before?"

"Perhaps you didn't notice me. Most people don't," she answered. "You were probably too busy worrying about your friend. She did seem very sad."

"Wait," Patty spoke. "If you're a ghost, how did you die?"

"Patty!" Liz was about to start scolding her younger sister.

The ghost merely giggled. "I've been dead for years. I'm not sure if you can tell how I died, but the clothes would give a hint," she replied. Her clothes had dark shades around many of the holes, as if they were burn marks. "I died in a fire. The name's Kate."

"So that skeleton we saw…" Maka paused.

"That was me," Kate sighed. "I just hope that my death wasn't in vain."

"Vain? What do you mean?" Tsubaki asked.

"Your friend who buried me is very kind. I can't help but feel that I know her," Kate ignored her question. "Years ago I knew someone. Your friend reminds me of her so much."

"Maybe you do," Maka replied. "Gahn seemed to know who you are."

"Gahn?" Kate gasped. "That was her?"

The students were very surprised by the ghost's reaction. "Yes," Tsubaki answered. "That was her."

"So then," Kate paused. "She's okay."

"Just curious," Maka spoke up. "How do you guys know each other?"

"Why?" Kate was suspicious.

"Because we want to know about what happened to Gahn regarding this village."

Kate gave them a look, clearly not convinced.

"She's been worrying us deeply."

The ghost's expression lightened. "Are you sure that you want to know?"

"Please," Tsubaki pleaded. "We want to help her but she won't tell us anything."

"Alright, this may be a while."

Suddenly their surroundings changed. The buildings surrounding them were suddenly all intact again, almost new. The streets were no longer littered with bodies and people walked down them. There was no longer blood on the ground or weapons.

"Where are we?" Maka asked.

"You wanted to know didn't you?" the ghost of Kate asked. "Don't bother trying to interact. They can't see you."

_A girl that looked exactly like Kate walked past the sign outside of the building that read Orphanage and into it. She passed down the halls, surrounded by bland white walls. Finally she reached her destination; a heavily locked door made out of steel. She switched the locks and then opened the doors. _

"Several years before, a young woman came in almost dead," the ghost of Kate explained. "She pleaded that we take in the child that she had with her, saying that its mother had died and she was too weak. She died moments later."

_A lone girl about the age of five sat on the ground, curled up with her head to her knees. A chain attached to the wall attached to a collar made of steel with a hint of silver in it around her neck could bee seen covered a bit by her black hair. Her green eyes snapped to Kate as she was approached. Her expression lightened when she saw who it was. _

_"Kate!" she exclaimed, standing up. _

_"Hey," Kate said gently, kneeling beside her. "How are you?"_

_"Good!" the girl exclaimed. "Are we going to do anything today?"_

The meisters couldn't believe her attitude. The young girl was a lot more positive then they would've imagined. She had to sleep chained up and on a bed of straw! The girl didn't mind though one bit.

"Wow," Maka said. "She certainly is carefree."

"Would you believe me if I told you that was Gahn?" the ghost asked.

"You're kidding!" Blackstar exclaimed. "There's no way that happy kid could be Grumpy!"

_"Would you like to go to the usual place?" Kate asked. _

_"Okay!" Gahn giggled, grabbing her hand. "Let's go."_

_The field was full of daisies and wild grass that went up to Gahn's head. "Stay close to me," Kate said. "I don't want you to end up getting lost again."_

_Gahn giggled and then followed as they approached an old tree. It was an oak; planted by the hundreds of years ago by a farmer who thought that scenery was too plain. Gahn ran past Kate, and immediately hopped onto one of the branches. "Be careful!" Kate called out, "I don't want you to get hurt."_

_Gahn gave a large smile and then turned to look at a birds nest. A blue jay fluttered down and then rested on her hand. It tilted its head back and forth and then hopped off, to go and sit in the nest. "Why do animals like me so much?" Gahn asked. "How come they never do that with you?"_

_"Maybe they just feel safer around you," Kate replied. "Now come on, I have a story to tell you."_

* * *

_Ghan heard what sounded like two people talking; a surprise to her because she normally couldn't hear past the door. Curious, she slowly walked up to it, the chain reaching its limit. Resting her ear up against the door, she tried to listen in. She had very good hearing so it wasn't hard to make out what they were saying when she tried to listen through a small crack. It sounded like Matthew and Jane, two other people who worked at the orphanage. She hadn't ever met them, but she had caught glimpses of them while Kate and she would go out. They seemed to avoid her and Kate though; an action that Gahn never understood. _

_"I still don't understand why we bother to keep her here."_

_"The previous orphanage keeper made a promise years ago," A voice answered. It was Kate._

_"Well yeah but who would want to keep something you're afraid of close to you?" Matthew asked. "How did you react when you found out that you had to take care of her? Aren't you afraid?"_

"The previous orphanage keeper was a kind person and took Gahn in the moment he received her but he died when she had turned three," the ghost of Kate explained. "The next orphanage keeper was afraid of her just as everyone else and made it so that she be locked alone in a room with a collar on to keep her from escaping."

_"They're afraid of me?" Gahn whispered to herself. _

_"No. Why would I be? There's nothing to fear."_

_"But she's a monster!"_

_"She is not a monster," she heard Kate retort. "Do not be so quick to judge someone you barely know."_

_"Even if she's not a monster she doesn't belong here," Jane tried to reason. "Everyone here is afraid."_

_"So? Just because the people here are afraid, doesn't mean that everyone in the world is," Kate's voice was colder then Gahn had ever heard before; it sent shivers down her spine. _

_"Kate where are you going?"_

_"This conversation is done."_

_When Gahn heard the footsteps of them walk away, she returned to her bed of straw and fell on to it. Everything she heard pained her so much. Everyone was afraid of her. She didn't understand; why was she a monster? Why were people afraid? It explained why she was pretty much a prisoner._

_Kate only visited once more that day to bring her some food. She told Gahn that no matter who told the girl otherwise, she was perfect just the way that she was. Gahn had her doubts though, and couldn't really believe her words. For a while after Kate simply came only to feed her. Gahn's time alone was something she got used to, and whenever Kate did come to visit, she cherished every moment, knowing deep inside, that they probably wouldn't be happening anymore soon._

* * *

_"Why do I have to put this on?" Gahn asked. It had been two years since hearing the conversation; Gahn was eight. _

_"I'm not allowed to tell you," Kate sighed, putting it around her neck. _

_Gahn frowned. It was true. The village was afraid of her. Every single time they went out together the villagers would grab their children and keep them close to them. Everyone would stare at her, so she would huddle next to Kate, who would then glare back at them. Gahn wasn't stupid. She knew that Kate was lying; there was nothing stopping Kate from telling her. The only thing that Gahn couldn't understand was why. Kate had told her that she could ask her anything. She guessed that was a lie too. _

_""Is there something wrong with me?" she asked. "Is that why I have to be chained up."_

_"No, not at all. Far from that," Kate got up and then walked do the door. Just before she closed the door she paused and looked at Gahn. "You're special, very, very special. More then you'll probably ever know."_


	12. Chapter 12: Fires Burning

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews and such. There's not much for me to say here. Anyways, read and review! Also, I'm not going to put in a sneak peek anymore. They're kind of annoying for me to make. **

* * *

_It had been several weeks since the Gahn had asked Kate why she had to wear a collar. She never came to visit her, not even to feed her. It didn't really bother Gahn though; she had gotten used to it. As the days went by, it was more obvious that the others didn't like her. When it was time for being fed, the door would slowly creek open, just enough for them to slide in a bowl. Then the door would immediately close, almost as fast as it opened. It disappointed her because of how they didn't even know what she would do yet they would assume that she would kill them._

* * *

_"Hey you," a voice startled her. "Get up." It was Matthew. She wasn't sure why he had come, especially considering his feelings. It wasn't a secret that he didn't like her – he had said that she was a monster – and she didn't like either. He was intimidating, cruel, and cold. He walked up to her, grabbing her collar and unlocking it. Then he put another collar on her with a chain attached to it. Not looking at her, he dragged her out of the building, not caring that she was constantly being jerked forward because she couldn't keep up. _

_He led her through the streets, the people giving her strange looks. The townspeople stared at her, whispering as she passed by. _

_"What's she doing outside?" A woman asked. _

_"I wonder how Kate can control that girl."_

_"I wonder what she did."_

_Insulting and demeaning comments filled her ears as she looked down at the ground, ashamed. All she wanted to do go back to her empty room. Matthew led her up a path, and through some trees. Where he was leading her worried her greatly, was she going to be left in the woods alone? Was she going to get killed? The thoughts and possibilities terrified her. _

_He led her to the field that she and Kate used to go to. It hadn't changed much at all. The tree was still there, and the flowers will still the same too; daisies and wolf's bane. He led her up the hill and towards the tree, then, he clipped the chain to a metal pole; an installment that she knew must have been new. Then he just left without saying a word, leaving her there alone. _

_Gahn watched as he walked away, unsure what was going on. Hoping that he was going to come back, she rolled on her back in the grass and stared at the sky. All she could think about was the possibilities of why the townspeople could be afraid of her. _

_Matthew came back at sunset. He came up to her, unclipped her and then dragged her back to the orphanage. When she was chained up against the wall again he left, leaving a small plate of food for her. All she could think about was why he did that, and if he was going to do it again. He really hoped that he wasn't going to do it again. _

_Luckily, she was right._

* * *

_Gahn heard what sounded like a yelling. She ignored it though, thinking it was nothing. Then she heard what sounded like screaming. Curious, she walked up to the barred window, but she wasn't tall enough to see through it. Hoisting herself up, she grabbed on to the bars, and peered through them. _

_A women screamed as a man grabbed her. She tried to struggle free but he grabbed her by her hair and then slashed her neck. When her human soul appeared, he grabbed it, storing it in a bag. Then another man tackled the fleeing person near her, stabbing him, and then taking his soul. They approached a house, and then lit it on fire, and as the villagers fled the house they killed them, stabbing them in their abdomens and necks. A third man came up, wearing the same armor as the other. _

_"Let's get going," the man said. "We've got something we need to do remember?"_

_They burst into houses, roughly interrogating every person they saw. If they weren't able to answer the men's questions they would kill them without any remorse, and even if they did get their answers, they would still kill them. Gahn watched in horror as the countless people died in their path. When she could have sworn that one of the men was looking her way she dropped down. _

_The screams of others filled her ears. Gahn cowered and sat on the floor, resting her head on her knees. She didn't know what was going on, but she knew that it meant danger. Suddenly, she heard the door burst open._

_"I don't have time to explain," Kate quickly ran up to her, and unlocked the collar. "We have to get out of here!"_

_She grabbed Gahn's hand, giving her the key and ran, leading her down the hall. Debris was scattered all over the floors, making it hard to move and flames started to crawl up the walls, catching the ceiling on fire. The heat that reflected off the walls was overbearing, making them tire quicker. Unable to withstand the weight from above, the wooden beams that had weakened greatly from the fire gave way, causing a massive amount of rubble to fall from above. Kate jumped back, grabbing Gahn, barely dodging the falling, burning weight. _

_"Damn it!" Kate cried. "We have to get out of here." She scanned the rubble, and noticed a gap in the flaming rubble. Lifting Gahn up, she ushered her to hop through it. _

_"What's going on?" Gahn asked as she tumbled on the ground on the other side. "Who were those men?"_

_"I'll tell you when we get out of here!" Kate exclaimed. "But we have to make sure we get out of here safely."_

_"Are we going to die?" _

_"No," Kate answered. "I promise we'll make it out."_

_Kate pushed Gahn, urging her to move. Gahn ran as fast as she could towards the end of the complex, she could see the exit far ahead. The sign had caught on fire, and by now the flames had engulfed almost all the building. Smoke surrounded her, making her barely able to see, and she could barely breathe. _

_"Faster!" Kate yelled, running ahead._

_Gahn failed to notice the fallen burning wooden beams, and tripped, falling straight on her face. As she struggled to get up a piece of wood fell on her legs, making it harder for her to get up. She grunted as she tried and failed to get out. Terrified, Gahn tried her best, worried about what was going to happen; smoke started to make her eyes tear. _

_Stopping, Kate ran back and started to try to pull her out. Realizing it wasn't working, she quickly grabbed a flaming wooden beam and slowly hauled it off the struggling child underneath. Gahn watched as the flames started to grow in front of the exit. She tried to warn Kate but Kate refused to go without her. Quickly grabbing Gahn, she ran towards the exit and as the flames blocked the exit she pushed Gahn through the flames. _

_Gahn watched in horror as Kate became engulfed in the flames, her scream being the last thing she heard. Her eyes teared up as the only person who ever cared about her died. Suddenly she felt someone lift her off the ground. _

_"Well, well," a man chuckled, looking at the squirming girl. Gahn looked terrified; there were still screams of other civilians and the yelling of the attackers. "So you were that girl they were talking about."_

_"Let me go! Let me go!" Gahn screamed, tears in her eyes. The man simply laughed at her struggling and pulled out his knife. _

_"Maybe I should just end you now."_

_"I SAID LET ME GO!" Gahn screamed. She gave an extremely large howl, one that was so loud that when she opened her eyes, the man had been flung back over ten feet. Gahn didn't understand what happened, but she saw her chance to run and she took it, the man pursuing behind her. _

_She made a beeline for the forest, and rand down the path. She wasn't sure where it was going to take her but she didn't care. All she could care about was getting away from them. She gave a quick look over her shoulder to see if she was pursued. _

_"Get her!" a man exclaimed. She was unsure why they wanted her, but she wasn't about to find out. Realizing that he was getting on his horse, she ran off the road and into the forest. She could hear the hooves of the horse come in contact with the ground. Quickly, she ran and hopped over fallen logs, giant rocks – anything that could possibly stop him from chasing after her. _

_She heard his voice getting closer and closer. Hastily she looked for a place to hide and ran further into the forest. Seeing an old wall from a broken down building, she hopped over the fence and into it. She huddled against the wall, hoping that he wouldn't find her. She could hear her heart beating as she heard the rustling of the man searching. _

_"Maybe she's over here," she heard the man say, the leaves rustled as he got closer. She held her breath when she heard him right behind her on the other side of the wall. Finally, she took a deep breath as she heard him start to leave but she didn't move until she was sure that he had left._

_ Getting up, she peered over the wall and when she was sure she had been left alone she sprinted as fast as she could back on the road unsure where it was going to take her. She ran and ran unsure where she was going. All she could think about was the screams she could hear in the distance. With tears in her eyes, the vision of Kate being surrounded by flames clouded her mind. _

_Tired, upset and lonely, Gahn started to slow down, her eyesight starting to fade. It felt like she was carrying bricks on her back. Finally she couldn't take it, and the last thing she saw before her eyes closed was the dirt in front of her face. _


	13. Chapter 13: You're not alone

**A/N: Seriously guys? How many times have I said this? ****_This is a side project. I will only updating this when I get writer's blocks on my novel. _****_I DON'T NEED TO HEAR CRAP BUGGING ME TO UPDATE OR THREATS LIKE "UPDATE OR THIS CAT WILL DIE", ESPECIALLY IF IT'S ONLY BEEN TWO DAYS. _**** Anyway, if you want to get an idea of what Gahn looks like look for the user werewolves-forever on deviantart. **

* * *

When Kate had finished telling them what happened, she sighed as she looked at them. The girls looked like they were crying and the guys had a look of extreme displeasure on their face. They knew that what happened was going to be sad, but they weren't expecting what Kate had told them.

"That's horrible," Maka said. "No wonder she why she didn't want to talk to us about why she was upset."

"Poor Gahn," Liz sobbed

"Perhaps this is why she's so distant." Kid suggested. "Perhaps she blames herself for your death."

"Dwelling on the past is so uncool," Soul muttered, earning a punch in the shoulder from Blackstar. "What was that for?"

"There's a time when things shouldn't be said," Blackstar frowned.

"Like you're one to talk!" Soul protested. "You're constantly trying to get attention."

"I know when it's not the place to say something. Saying that dwelling on the past uncool is just plain wrong, especially when you've done what you're saying is uncool," Blackstar growled, clearly upset with Soul's comment.

"How could you say that?" Liz snapped at Soul. "After what she's been through you could at least show some sympathy!"

Soul simply rolled his eyes. His behaviour was getting worse and worse and Maka didn't like it one bit. She wasn't sure what was happening but she knew that Soul's new attitude wasn't a good thing. They were already having problems with resonating souls, and if continued on the same path, only worse things were over the horizon.

"Do you know what happened after?" Maka asked. There was no answer. Kate had disappeared and there was no trace of her.

"Are you ready to head back?" Kid reminded. They all looked at him with realisation. Stark had told them to come to Ashtville first. So there was more that they weren't being told. The girls prayed that he wasn't going to tell them something tragic too, but deep down inside, they knew it probably was.

"You're back," Stark stated as the teens slowly walked up to him. He took note that their body language was giving off a depressed vibe. He wasn't surprised by their expressions which were full of sadness. "Did you find what you were searching for?"

"Yes," Kid replied. "But why did you want us to come back? We were told what we needed to figure out"

"Because," Stark sighed. "You were given answers to a part of your questions. Not answers to all of them. The questions you sought out for on this journey were answered, however the ones that you have left, remain unanswered.

"So what you have to tell us will answer the rest?" Kid asked.

"Yes. You see, Gahn's behaviour is because of something that happened after what Kate had told you."

* * *

It was early in the morning, and a man walked down the path. They assumed he was the younger version of stark, as he had similar features, but he didn't really have a short beard. He was going for his usual walk around the forest, planning on going to his favourite spot so that he could scan the cliffs for a vein of minerals, hoping he wouldn't have to go into town. As he passed by one of the towering maple trees, he caught a glimpse of a something collapsed in the road. Curious, he walked over to it.

It was a young girl about the age of eight, who had clearly been through some terrible struggle. Her face was bruised, she had cuts everywhere and she was completely out. Her cloths were slightly charred in certain areas, and he noticed a red line around her neck.

Worried, he picked her up and began to head back to where he had come from. The girl was a lot lighter than he thought she would be; which was a good sign, but her weight still concerned him. He could also hear her breathing so he knew she was just asleep; which relieved some worry.

Finally he turned around a corner to the house. The group of teens recognized it as the house that stood behind him, only more refurbished, and the property wasn't destroyed. Towering trees surrounded it, most were maple and there were a few cedars. Walking into the house, he traveled to the room that was connected to the kitchen. It had two couches, and a fireplace near it that had a dry log in it. He placed her on one of the couches and then quickly grabbed his medical kit.

Pulling out a tensor bandage and some other surprise, he carefully cleaned the wounds using some isopropyl alcohol. Then he bandaged them up and wrapped the tensor bandage around her forehead where she seemed to have a large wound. After checking his work, he sighed and then stood up, placing a sheet over top of her.

* * *

Gahn groaned and opened her eyes. Noticing that she wasn't on the road anymore she touched her face, realising that there was a bandage around part of it. Looking around, she realised she was in someone's house. The strange man who was cooking turned around and looked at her with surprise.

"You're awake," he stated, walking up to her with a glass of water. "Are you okay?"

"Gahn nodded, unsure what to say.

"You don't need to be afraid," he said gently, handing her the glass. "I'm Stark Frawning. Mind telling me your name?"

"Gahn Shakrin," she replied.

"You took quite a beating. Where are you from?"

Gahn paused for a moment, her eyes watering a bit. "Ashtville."

Stark nodded in understanding; he knew who had come to the village and he was also well aware that they were not the kind to leave people alive, making her the sole survivor. "Well from this day on you'll be staying with me," Stark smiled.

"Really?" Gahn was suspicious. Why would someone want her to stay with them?

"Yes," Stark nodded before standing up. "Now you should go to bed again. You must be exhausted."

"It wasn't long until Gahn had come to accept me," the ghost of Stark explained. "I would often hear her at night screaming out; reliving the same nightmare and each time I would come and comfort her."

Gahn had never experienced hospitality – at least, experienced being excepted – so it was all new to her, but she was happy. She finally felt welcome, and she truly felt happy. Though what happened still haunted her mind, she never let it really get to her. Every night before she went to bed she would talk while looking at the stars through the window as if Kate was still with her.

* * *

"Hey Gahn," Stark started. It had been almost a year since they had first met. "I think it's time I teach you about smithing."

"Smithing? Making weapons?"

"Yes," Stark smiled, walking to where his tools were. He pulled out a large unsharpened basic piece of metal that had been cut. "I figured I should teach you. On top of that, I need someone to help me."

Gahn eagerly watched as Stark pointed to the various machines, explaining what they did. He showed her what looked like a large box and explained that it was the heat treating oven, and then explained that she shouldn't touch it if he wasn't around. The forge he had was fairly large, resting over some coal from the fire. He took the blade and threw it into the forge, explaining that the metal had to be heated to be worked with. Then he showed her the power-hammer he had, and how it worked. When he saw that the metal had been heated, he took out some tongs that were flat and held it between the two inserted pieces. Putting his foot on the petal, the machine began to move up and down, hammering on the piece of metal. When the metal's colour turned back to grey he put it back in the forge. When it changed back to red he gave Gahn the tongs and asked her to try.

She carefully pulled the metal out, afraid she was going to do something wrong and placed it on the power-hammer. Then she eased her foot down on the pedal. The machine roared and started to pound on the metal, making bevels on the sides. Stark then indicated her to stop and then took the tongs from her. Dipping it in water, he let it harden a bit before he showed her to the grinders. He motioned for her to put some of the gloves he had to the side on, and then picked up the blade. Carefully, he put the blade up against the spinning wheel and started to move the blade, keeping it steady. After examining the bevels that had been ground, he held it out to Gahn, implying that she do the same.

She took the blade from him, and put it up against the grinder. Sparks flew as she put more pressure on it, struggling to keep the blade steady. Stark quickly held onto the blade too, helping her and when he was sure she was going to be okay he stopped.

"You're a fast learner. That's good," Stark pulled out another blade from the rack. "I still have to work on the hilt, which I can do later. For now, I'm going to show you how to temper a blade."

He walked over to what looked like a very large machine and placed the blade in it. "This is a heat treating oven. After you are finished with the blade you put it in here and then quench it in oil. Then you temper it. You can also do the tempering and the fire, but you have more control this way."

After a while he motioned for Gahn to come towards him. He opened up the oven and used the tongs to pull out the blade. Giving her the tongs, he pointed to the vat of oil. As the blade submerged in oil it made a fizzling sound, and then smoke and steam erupted from the sudden change in temperature. After several moments Stark made her bring it back out and put it back into the oven again. "Different metals have different melting points and different temperatures for tempering," he explained. "It takes a while to remember them but I'm sure that you'll do just fine."

"Gahn," Stark called out. "Can you please come outside?"

"Coming!" Gahn replied back, coming down the stairs. She opened the back door, stepping into the large clearing behind the house.

"I think it's time I train you to fight,"

"Fight?" Gahn tilted her head. "Why?"

"Trust me, you will find yourself using it quite frequently."

Gahn was handed a stage sword – a sword with the edges ground down – and then Stark raised his.

"Come at me," Stark said. "Don't worry about me. I just want to see how you are at combat."

Gahn swung the sword at Stark, who easily maneuvered away from it and then tripped her, causing her to land flat on her face. She let out a groan and then got back up.

"Don't look so down. You did better than most people would have. When I started out I remember being sent into a tree stump," Stark chuckled. "Now, let's try something else."

He made Gahn practice all kinds of different techniques and maneuvers making sure that she was able to at least survive in a regular fight. Parrying, dodging, disarming, getting the upper edge; he made sure she understood them all. His teaching proved to be a success. Within several months she proved to be capable to take down any animals she found herself encountering in the forest as she looked for more materials to use for smithing.

* * *

Every day was similar. She would wake up, train with him, gather more materials and then help him build weapons. Occasionally they would go into the closest town to sell some things but Gahn usually hid, too nervous to meet the people. She still missed Kate, but as the days went by she found herself talking to Kate less and less. The only thing she really thought about was why they were afraid of her, and that only came up when Stark asked her if she knew what she was. She didn't understand what he meant and when she asked he simply shrugged it off, avoiding it.

"Hey listen," Stark started. They had finished doing some hand-to-hand combat. "Do you know why they put a silver collar around your neck?"

"No."

He paused for a second and then sighed. "It's because you're a werewolf."

Gahn couldn't believe what she was hearing. She stared at him in disbelief, hoping that he was kidding. His straight face said otherwise.

"Have you ever experienced anything related to your powers?"

"I do have extremely good hearing, and there was that one time…." Gahn paused for a moment, not really wanting to be reminded of her experience again. "I remember being gripped extremely tightly and I let out a large howl in pain. When I opened my eyes the man was completely away from me. "

Stark was shocked by what Gahn had told him. The last known person with the ability died years ago. "What you have is what we would call a sonic howl. You howled at loud volume which triggered your ability. What you have is very unique, and I believe you are the only one who can do it. Just make sure that you don't do it often as it can take up a large amount of energy at your age."

Gahn simply nodded.

"Anyway," Stark started. "Do you know how to transform?"

"No."

"Try to imagine yourself as a wolf; let the feral instincts take over."

Gahn closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She could feel a strange shiver, as she imagined traveling through the forest at night. She started to feel the urge to growl and howl. A warm feeling erupted in her body and she embraced it.

She could feel her body change, bones growing and changing. Her gums hurt a bit as the fangs started to come through and her head began to hurt quite a lot as it changes shape. Fur erupted from all over her body in black and a tail began to form. She flicked her black wolf ears and then stared Stark, who was now at the same height as her.

_Was this why I was chained Kate?_

* * *

Everything was going perfectly. Gahn finally had a home that she was welcome in, she was finally accepted, and that's all she wanted. She had become a skilled weapon maker, and was the one who would usually forge the blades, as she wasn't as skilled with making the hilts. She was taught about the different materials and their magical use as well as where to find them, making her the one who would have to go gather them. Though it was a lot of work, she enjoyed every part of it. She got to experience freedom, something that she never received before.

But then everything changed.

* * *

Stark coughed and hacked. He had been outside chopping some wood when he had come down with a fever. He was too weak to do anything and had been stuck in bed for a week. Gahn got worried, and constantly came to check on him. She was only ten, but because of everything that had happened before, she wanted to make sure that she would do her best to help those who were close to her, which currently was only Stark.

"I'm fine," Stark reassured her. "Don't worry about me."

"But you're sick," Gahn protested.

Stark sighed, knowing that he wasn't going to convince her. "Listen," he started. "There's something important I need to tell you."

He started coughing much more and after several minutes of coughing, he stopped. He raised his hand as if he was going to continue but Gahn interrupted him.

"You need to rest," she said, walking over to the door. "I'll go outside and collect some mint leaves for some tea."

She said her goodbyes and then rushed outside, turning down a path with a small wooden bucket in her hand. It was too long until she reached a waterfall. She carefully hopped over the slippery rocks in the water, making sure that she didn't disturb the fish either. Taking a look around, she was disappointed that she couldn't see anything and then continued down along the river until she found a path which she then went up to.

It was like a sea of mint leaves. They were everywhere. She was so surprised by the sight, she stared them for a few moments, astonished that it actually existed. She had never seen it before, but she was glad she knew a good place to come again if she ever needed more. Remembering what she had come to do, she picked up some leaves and turned around, going in the direction that she came from. A caw a of crow could be heard, but she ignored it.

When she got home, she noticed the door had been broken. Curious, she carefully approached it. The bucket made a loud clash as it hit the ground.

Two men had Stark held in a grip, sneering as he struggled. Both were heavily armed, each wearing heavy metal armour with a snarling wolf crest on the shoulder plates.

"I won't do it," Stark growled. "Gahn get out of here!"

Gahn simply stood there, frozen in terror. One of them grabbed her, and as she struggled to get free he pulled a knife up to her neck. As soon as he did, she stopped, and simply looked at Stark with confusion and worry.

"Don't hurt her!"

"Then tell us where it is!"

"No! I could never betray them!"

"Then maybe the little girl can?" the one holding her suggested.

"She doesn't have anything to do with this! She doesn't even know what you're talking about!"

Their patience seemed to be wearing thin as Stark refused. "Then you are no use for us," Stark was grabbed and then the man pulled out a large knife. "Pin the girl down."

Gahn was pinned down on the ground on her stomach, and she winced in pain as her head was pulled up and forced to look at Stark. Tears rolled down her face as the knife was brought to her neck again. She watched horror as they stabbed him in the chest twice; all the while she was forced to watch. When he slumped to the floor, blood flowing freely, they let go of her, and then left as if nothing had happened.

Gahn rushed over to him, hoping that he was still alive. He looked at her, his eyes almost closed, giving a sad look. "I'm sorry," he said. "There is something you should know."

"That's not important. We have to bring you to the hospital!"

"I-I'm sorry…" he said again as his eyes closed. Gahn's tears cascaded down her face, staining her clothes and his. He stopped moving, stopped breathing, and she could no longer feel his pulse.

"No, no, no!" She cried. "Don't die! Please! Wake up!"

She had already lost everything she cared about before. She didn't want it to happen again. "Don't leave me! Please!" Gahn pleaded but she knew it was too late.

The one person who cared about her, the one person she cared about, was gone. All that could be heard was her crying.

* * *

"I have watched Gahn ever since that day, though she cannot see me, as her mind is clouded by grief. After that day she vowed not to get close to anyone; she didn't want to lose someone she cared about all over again. She dedicated her days to studying, and training, to make sure that it would happen again," Stark's voice reminded as Maka walked into the door. She paused as she opened the door, eyes towards the ground with a frown on her face.

"She hasn't given a true smile, or cried for over five years," Maka approached Gahn, who was sitting up, looking at her lap. She looked at Gahn, on the brink of tears. Maka sat down beside her on the bed.

"No matter what she says, what she really wants," Maka suddenly embraced her. "Is to know that there are people who do care."

Gahn's eyes widened, and then after several moments she returned the hug, clinging onto Maka tightly. For the first time in years, Gahn cried.


	14. Chapter 14: The Haven

**A/N: Hey guys. Yeah I know, I'm not dead or anything. I am currently in the IB diploma program, which is extremely hard. I've been super busy lately and I never really had a chance to do anything. I said it before a _million times_ ****but I'll say it again. This is a side project. I will only be updating it when I get a writer's block when I am writing my main project. DO NOT EXPECT ME TO BE UPDATING EVERY FEW WEEKS. **

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"I've been trying to figure out this riddle," Kid answered.

"Have you made any progress?" Maka asked.

"No. I don't know where to even start. He said follow the corvidae to my sanctuary and I don't even know what a corvidae is. And to top it off, even if I did know what it was, then I wouldn't understand where to start."

It had been a week since their arrival at the lone house. Ghan wasn't ready to leave yet, and they knew that she shouldn't be left completely alone so they decided to stay. They were still worried about her.

Maka had thought they could get more information that could lead them in the right direction. Gahn was a bit sceptical about letting them roam around and rummage through the stuff but with a little coaxing from Maka she allowed. Since Stark had told them what had happened, Gahn had a developed a soft spot for her.

"Why don't we ask Gahn?" Maka inquired. "If Stark made lots of riddles, as his apprentice she must know how to solve them."

"Good idea!" Kid exclaimed, getting up and holding his hand out. Maka gladly took it, and then walked into the house to where the workshop was.

Gahn was sitting on a stool by the belt grinder with a sword, refining the edges as sparks flew around. Each time the blade would come in contact with the belts it made an unpleasant noise, one that made everyone cringe. The two teens patiently waited, hoping that Gahn would notice them. When she didn't they both assumed it was the noise. Maka carefully tapped on her shoulder, making Gahn twitch. Sighing, she put the sword into her bucket of water and got up, unpleased that they had interrupted her. She was almost finished with it and wanted to get it done as soon as possible.

"What do you need?"

"We were wondering if you could help us with this," Kid pulled out the slip of paper.

"Do you know what a corvidae is?"

Gahn looked at the piece of paper and then smirked. "Usually when people use the word corvidae they are referring to a blackbird."

"So then which one do you think it is?"

"I don't know. It probably has something to do with the sanctuary."

"Did he ever talk about a sanctuary?" Maka asked.

"No," Gahn sighed. "Ask one of the staff members. They'll probably know."

Maka frowned knowing that she was going to have to talk to her father. Kid noticed her attitude and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry. It won't be long."

* * *

"Hey Kiddo!" Lord death bounced as he saw his son and Maka enter the death room. "Why are you here?"

"MAKA!" Spirit yelled.

"REAPER-CHOP"

"We actually came to talk to Spirit."

"I see," Lord Death turned to Spirit, who was crying. "Well by all means go ahead."

"The clue we have says to follow the blackbirds to his sanctuary," Kid explained. "Did he have any interest any kinds of blackbirds?"

"No," Spirit replied. "I don't remember him ever having what could be remotely considered an interest."

"Alright," Kid sighed. "Do you know anything that could possibly help us find the sanctuary he is talking about? Did he ever mention a sanctuary?"

"Now that I recall," Spirit mused. "There was a time when we traveled together. He told me that if he were to retire, he would move to live near a place he always referred to as his Safe Haven."

"Perfect. Did he ever tell you where it might be?" Kid asked.

"No. He never gave an exact location. All he said was that it was close to the DWMA."

Maka sighed, knowing that even though the information was helpful, they were nowhere near where answer. She turned to walk out of the death room, hoping to get away from her father, grabbing Kid's hand to lead him with her. Kid blushed , realising her hands were much softer than he thought they would be.

* * *

"Hey Kid," Maka began. They were both flying back to Stark's house in the forest, though Maka was a bit frightened and was clinging onto Kid, much to her pleasure. It was a good excuse for her to pass up. There was no way she would dare do something like that out front even though she wanted to. Her friends would make fun of her, and what would Kid think? It certainly wasn't something she wanted to find out. "His house – the last place Stark was – could be where he intended to retire. If that's true then the sanctuary he's talking about must be close by!"

"Hold on tight then," Kid replied. "You might not like this."

Maka clung on for dear life – not that Kid really minded.

* * *

She had no idea how long she was going to have to keep it up, but it was frustrating. The answer was right in front of their faces.

She had been told not to tell them, not to help them. She was aware that Lord Death was not planning on using it for the wrong intent but she had made an oath. Even though Lord Death had intentions that were pure, she was told not to in case those who were sent to find it did not.

The seals were there for a reason and she was sure that if they truly were not the right people they would not have been able to get past them. She had seen it herself; there was no reason to doubt. And even if they were not, there was no way they would get past the last seal. That: she was sure of it. She had never seen the seal herself, but she knew that if he truly was worried, there was no doubt in her mind that it would not be easy to break.

* * *

"Hey Gahn," Maka started, approaching the smith. "How well do you know the area?"

"Almost inside out," Gahn replied, putting the plate into the cupboard. "Why?"

"We think that the location of the weapon is somewhere near here," Maka explained.

"What makes you say that?" Liz asked. "Did you figure out the riddle?"

"Papa said that Stark always mentioned that he had a place he called his Safe Haven and that if he were to retire he would live near it. We have a letter to Lord Death saying that Stark was to retire –which he did – and he lived here until the day he died. If what Papa said was true then the weapon would be in this relative area."

"That makes sense," Soul muttered, sipping some coffee. "If he wanted to keep it hidden he probably would want to keep an eye on it. It would be uncool if he didn't."

"But the forest is huge!" Patty giggled. "It sure would take a long time!"

"True," Kid stated. "Gahn, do you know any places near here that he spent a lot of time around? Spirit said that Stark called his place a haven."

Everyone in the room stared at her, waiting for her answer, no one speaking. Gahn paused for a moment, not turning around. The atmosphere was tense, and they were not sure if Kid had struck a nerve.

"I need to gather some materials. I want everyone to come with me," Gahn said as she turned around and opened the door, gesturing the others to follow. Tsubaki gave Maka a worrying look, but Maka simply shrugged.

Gahn lead them off the main path, and threw some trees down a different one. It was well hidden and it clearly hadn't been used in a while. Occasionally an animal could be heard but other than those sounds it was almost dead quiet. As they went further the trees seemed to get larger, towering over them and shadowing the path. It was expected that Blackstar was going to run on a head, saying that as a god he should be first but he didn't, much to Maka's surprise.

After sever minutes the path started going downhill – quite steep too – into a valley. The trees started to get taller and the number of bushes decreased quite a lot, turning into clumps of green scattered around instead of a sea of green foliage. The sound of flowing water could be heard in the distance and got louder the further down they went. They went over a bridge that went across the river flowing from the waterfall at the valley's edge that towered high above them. They were shocked at the change in surroundings. On one side of the bridge there were towering trees, and on the other side there was nothing. Calling it a field was even stretching it. Gahn didn't seem to mind though, and continued to guide them down the path beside the stone cliffs.

Then she stopped.

"We're here," Gahn stated, stopping in front of the cave entrance.

"But what if there are ghosts?" Liz shivered. "Or giant spiders? Or rats?"

"I can affirm right now that there will not be any," Gahn stated, walking ahead into the cave.

The cavern was rather small, leading them in a fairly straight forward direction with no tangents in the paths. Just as Gahn said, there were no spiders, ghosts, or rats. The only living thing were the plants. Liz still cautiously walked behind them, her arms covering her chest as she whimpered.

"This is it," the others looked at what Gahn was talking about and gasped.

Everyone looked in awe as they walked slowly. The cavern had led them to a large clearing adorned with gems that shimmered. Moonlight coming from a hole in the top shone through and onto them, making them almost glow with colour. There was malachite, quartz, sapphire, lapis, zircon, citrine, and amethyst visible throughout the cave.

"This is cool," Soul mumbled.

"YOUR GOD IS PLEASED THAT YOU'VE ALLOWED HIM TO SEE THIS WONDER!" Blackstar exclaimed boastfully. Gahn simply rolled her eyes and then leaned against a part of the wall that contained no gems.

"It is beautiful…"Maka mumbled as she walked up to a giant crystal of zircon that reminded her of someone's eyes. "I didn't know that this place existed."

"You wouldn't," Gahn said. "This is considered a sacred place as it's the only place where you will find all of these gems together in the same place. Only people extremely close to Stark even know that this place existed."

"So then why show this to us?"

Gahn didn't answer.

Kid walked next to Maka, curious to see what she was looking at. Then he saw two emerald crystals. They were perfectly symmetrical, a rich green and clear. They were flawless. Just like the person they reminded him off. "They're beautiful," Maka said, looking at them.

Kid picked them up, both fitting in his hand. "Yeah." _You are._

"What's that behind that stone?" Maka asked, removing it. "It looks like there's something behind here."

"Hey isn't that -"

"Oh Lord Death it is." Maka replied. "It's that same symbol we've seen before." Maka pulled it and a rumbling noise could be heard. Suddenly the wall started to shift, making a loud scraping noise as it moved. It shifted inwards and then down, revealing a path aligned with glowing gems illuminating it.

"Hey guys!" Maka exclaimed. "I think I found where the weapon is hidden!"

"Really?" Soul asked astounded. "You actually found it?"

"I don't know what else this would be."

The group smiled, excited that they were finally going to finish the goose chase. They were interrupted however, when they heard slow clapping. They paused, and slowly turned towards Gahn.

Gahn stopped clapping when they had all faced her. "Congratulations. I was wondering how long it would take you to figure it out."

"You knew where it was?" Soul exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell us? We could've found it days ago!"

"I made an oath. As the guardian I could not tell you directly where it was. Regardless of who, I made a promise that I would not tell them where it was directly."

"So then, you knew where all the key fragments were?" Tsubaki asked.

"No," Gahn replied. "Stark hid those long ago – before I even met him – so I was almost as clueless as you as to where to find them."

"Wait a minute," Kid paused. "What was the reason you actually came to the academy?"

"Before he died Stark gave Spirit a letter. In it was a passage about me, which was then passed on to Lord Death. Lord Death told me to come to the academy because he wanted me to be close and saw me as a benefit to the academy."

"You knew the answer to the riddle didn't you?" Maka asked. "How?"

"Did you guys ever look on a map?" Gahn asked. "If you looked at the map you would have noticed that this forest is called Ravenwood."

"I don't get it," Patty whined.

* * *

The path led them deeper and deeper into the ground and it also seemed incredibly long. Finally the path stopped at two giant sealed doors. Connecting the two doors was a giant locking mechanism that sprawled all over them. "Put the key fragments in there," Gahn stated.

Kid took the fragments out of a box his father had given him and began to put the key together. Surprisingly, each piece had grooves and notches on it, making it easier for it to connect to each other. When he was sure everything was lined up correctly he inserted the key with ease. Suddenly the key turned on its own, causing pistons and gears to start moving. Then the door swung open revealing a humongous room filled with lit torches.

"I wonder what these are," Kid said, looking at some of the carvings on the walls. "There appears to be three aligned on this wall with some sort of strange symbol on the floor."

"The one over there is definitely the symbol for shinigami," Maka explained, pointing to the one to the left.

"This one has a tree with the words Spirit and God at the top, with the letters MA underneath it," Tsubaki said, looking at the one on the right. "Kami means God in Japanese and since Spirit is the name of your father. MA must be referring to you Maka!"

"What does the one in the middle show?" Liz was curious. It had an elaborate pattern of a snarling wolf head on it with a crown above the animal head. Below it was a small inscription, that had clearly been faded.

_The daughter of the Moon Singer_


End file.
